Rauf Denktaş Mausoleum and Museum

The project aims to construct a mausoleum and museum at the site where Rauf Raif Denktaş, the Founding President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and a pivotal figure in the Turkish Cypriot People’s fight for freedom, was laid to rest after serving as their political leader for over 40 years. Located in the northwest of Nicosia, the capital of Northern Cyprus, along the Nicosia-Kyrenia main artery, the project site is situated in Cumhuriyet Park, opposite Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital. This park holds significant importance due to its central location and features the Monument of the Turkish Resistance Organization.

During the design phase, the layout was developed to intersect the Monument of the Turkish Resistance Organization and the Rauf Raif Denktaş Mausoleum on the same pedestrian promenade. This promenade aims to educate visitors about the Turkish Cypriot People’s struggle for freedom. Starting from the promenade’s entrance, visitors are guided towards the mausoleum, emphasizing a symbolic entrance. The open ceremony area in the forefront gradually transitions into a closed ceremony area at an elevation of +4. This area, housing the mausoleum and a memorial book, is symbolized by a straightforward and comprehensive design language. Illuminated naturally through roof openings, the space glorifies Rauf Raif Denktaş’s eternal resting place.

The surrounding walls of the rich interior space provide a new perspective on the museum and exhibition functions, transforming into a memorial path that narrates the Turkish Cypriot People’s struggle for freedom and the life of Rauf Raif Denktaş. This memorial path, commencing from the ceremony area and spanning across various elevations, establishes a visual connection with the mausoleum through voids created in internal wall surfaces on each level. Visitors witness the Turkish Cypriot People’s fight for survival at every juncture of the memorial path, becoming unified with Rauf Raif Denktaş’s mausoleum, a key figure in this struggle.