Cumhuriyet Anıtı
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Cumhuriyet Anıtı (or The Republic Monument in English) is a notable monument located at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey to commemorate the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Built in two and half years with financial support from the population and unveiled by Dr. Hakkı Şinasi Pasha on August 8, 1928, it was designed by Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica.[1]
The monument was also constructed in order to challenge the taboos that had existed from Ottoman times that restricted the depiction of the human form, this was done in compliance with the Sharia. The 11 m high monument portrays the founders of the Turkish Republic, prominent are depictions of Kemal Atatürk, who commissioned the work, his assistant İsmet İnönü, and Fevzi Çakmak. The monument has two sides, the side facing northward depicts Atatürk at an earlier period and the other one facing Istiklal Caddesi has Atatürk and his comrades dressed in modern, western-European clothing, symbolizing him in both his roles, as military commander-in-chief and as statesman. Interestingly enough, figures of two Soviet Russian generals are among the group behind Atatürk. Their presence in the monument, ordered by Atatürk, points out to the military aid given by Lenin during the Turkish War of Independence in 1920.
Cumhuriyet Anıtı is an important site, where official ceremonies on national holidays are being held.
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