Marvelous isn’t it? This unassuming building before us. The FF Building. It’s more than just bricks and mortar. It whispers tales of a nation’s birth.
This wasn’t always the FF Building. It began life in 1915 as a clubhouse. The Committee of Union and Progress commissioned it. The architect Salim Bey designed this very structure. Mahmut Şevket Bey oversaw the project. Hasip Bey a military architect finished the stonework. Sadly the building remained incomplete. The Committee fell. Hasip Bey was killed during the War of Independence.
The building sat unfinished for years. Then came the Armistice. British and French soldiers occupied Ankara. They even used this partially roofless building as a base. The arrival of Mustafa Kemal Pasha changed everything. The foreign soldiers left.
In 1920 Turkey needed a parliament. This was the only building large enough. Necati Bey who later became a deputy repaired and completed the building. On April 23 1920 a momentous day the Turkish Grand National Assembly opened here. Inside these very walls history unfolded.
The Assembly made critical decisions. It created the 1921 constitution. It declared Turkey a Republic. Ankara became the capital. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was elected president. All these events transpired within this building.
Made from Ankara stone a local pink-purple andesite. It exemplifies the First National Architecture Period Style. The tiles came from Ankara homes. Some were even taken from the Numune School.
The building served as the Grand National Assembly until 1924. It then became the Republican People’s Party headquarters. It even housed a law school for a time. In 1952 it was transferred to the Ministry of National Education. It became a museum in 1961. Now it stands as a powerful testament to Turkey’s struggle for independence. A silent observer of momentous events. The FF Building a living monument to a nation’s birth. A building that saw the birth of modern Turkey.