Atakule

Atakule
Atakule

Atakule Tower and Atrium mall in Ankara
General information
Type Observation tower
Communications tower
Shopping mall
Restaurant
Location Ankara, Turkey
Coordinates 39°53′10″N 32°51′22″E / 39.88611°N 32.85611°ECoordinates: 39°53′10″N 32°51′22″E / 39.88611°N 32.85611°E
Construction started 1987
Completed 1989
Opening October 13, 1989
Height
Roof 125 m (410 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 4
Design and construction
Architect Ragıp Buluç

Atakule is a 125m (410 feet) high communications and observation tower located in the Çankaya district of central Ankara, Turkey, and is one of the primary landmarks of the city. As the district of Çankaya is itself on a hill, the tower can be spotted from almost anywhere in the city during clear days. The tower's design came from architect Ragıp Buluç and the construction works lasted from 1987 to 1989. The top section of the tower houses an open terrace and a revolving restaurant named Sevilla, which makes a full 360 degree rotation in one hour. On top of Sevilla is another restaurant, Dome, which is non-revolving and located directly under the cupola. Under the terrace is a café, named UFO. The bottom structures house a shopping mall and several indoor and outdoor restaurants. The tower was opened on 13 October 1989 by President Turgut Özal.

In Turkish, the word ata means "ancestor" (or "father" in Old Turkic), which is often used as a nickname (Ata) for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey; while the Turkish word kule means "tower".

Atrium shopping mall

The shopping mall adjacent to the tower, Atrium, was also opened on 13 October 1989. It was the first modern mall in Ankara and the second in Turkey after Galleria in Istanbul, which was opened in 1987. The shopping mall is now closed due to loss of popularity in the face of competition from an increasing number of more modern shopping malls in the city.[1] It will be demolished and rebuilt as a contemporary style shopping mall.[2][3]

See also

References

External links

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