July 15 Museum draws thousands of visitors

ANKARA

The July 15 Democracy Museum, which was established to preserve the memory of Türkiye’s resistance against the failed 2016 coup attempt by the FETÖ terrorist organization, has hosted more than 350,000 visitors since its opening in 2021.

Inaugurated on July 15, 2021, the museum is among Türkiye’s largest digital and thematic museums, with an enclosed area of 98,000 square meters.

Located across from the Presidential Complex in Ankara, the underground museum consists of eight thematic halls that revisit the coup attempt and the spirit of national unity that prevented it. The sections are titled “Coups in Türkiye and the World,” “The Threat of a Bullet,” “Thrown into Darkness,” “The Longest Night,” “Those Who Left a Mark,” “Call to Prayer,” “Tribute to the Martyrs” and “Guardians of Democracy.”

Visitors begin their experience in a dark corridor symbolically walking under a tank, enhanced with sound and light effects that simulate the chaotic atmosphere of the coup night. The “Longest Night” hall features video projections recounting the events from the start of the coup attempt to its suppression, while the “Call to Prayer” corridor leads to a memorial section displaying biographies and photographs of the 253 martyrs.

Under a glass dome in the final hall, 90 silicone statues represent people taking part in post-coup democracy vigils, placed beneath a 23-meter-long artificial plane tree. Along a 235-meter path known as “the valley,” which begins with replicas of Seljuk tombstones from Ahlat, visitors encounter reliefs narrating Türkiye’s major investments, ending at the July 15 Martyrs’ Memorial.

The museum also hosts educational programs for children and various social responsibility events. Since its opening, it has attracted a diverse range of visitors, including families, students and international guests.

‘Heroism of the nation on display’

Ali Haydar Atalar, the museum’s director, told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he is honored to lead the institution, which he described as “a testament to the heroism of our noble nation and the betrayal it endured.”

Atalar emphasized that the museum portrays both sides of July 15 — the courage of citizens who resisted the coup and the treachery behind the plot to destroy democracy and national sovereignty.

“July 15 can be interpreted as a response to the injustices and lawlessness of past coups and memorandums in Türkiye — in 1960, 1971, 1980, Feb. 28, 1997, and 2007,” he said. “It is concrete proof that our nation will never yield to pressure or tyranny.”

The museum includes detailed narratives of the 253 martyrs and the veterans who stood against the coup attempt. “We receive emotional and positive feedback from visitors, who connect deeply with the stories presented,” Atalar noted.

Atalar also highlighted that between July 2023 and July 2024, the museum hosted 60 different events, including charity drives, educational workshops for children, commemorative days for martyrs and social activities involving children from state-run homes.

Through its immersive digital storytelling and community-centered initiatives, the July 15 Democracy Museum aims to ensure that the events of that night remain vivid in collective memory.

The museum is open to visitors daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Mondays.