Atatürk Mask

The Atatürk Mask (Atatürk Maskı) is a large concrete bust of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, located in Buca district of İzmir. The sculpture was completed in 2009 at a cost of ₺4.2 million.

History
Buca Municipality has agreed with sculptor Harun Atalayman to have a monument dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk built. The sculpture, the construction of which started in 2006, was completed in 2009 at a cost of ₺4.2 million. In September 2010, a museum called the Independence War and 9 September Museum was established within the sculpture for a brief of time. In 2018, after being damaged by weather and climate, help was asked from trained mountain climbers with the repairs, because a crane is not able to access some locations of the monument.

Design
The Atatürk Mask, at 42 m high, is the highest relief sculpture in Turkey, and the tenth highest relief sculpture in the world. It is built up over a scaffolding and not carved into the side of the mountain. To be more specific, the monument is steel structure containing a space truss system. In the lower left corner of the sculpture, Atatürk's quote "Peace at Home, Peace in the World" and his signature are embossed.