Anafartalar Çarşısı

About Anafartalar Çarşısı

Anafartalar Çarşısı is a multi-storey shopping building on Anafartalar Caddesi in Ulus, Ankara's historic centre, and takes its name from the street. Turkish Wikipedia describes it as the oldest shopping centre in Ankara, dating from 1964. The building grew out of a 1964 architectural competition held by Ankara İmar ve Emlak İşletmesi, in which three winning projects were blended into one design. Its architects were Ferzan Baydar, Affan Kırımlı and Tayfur Şahbaz, and the decoration was by the architect Ruşen Dora. For its time it used several then-new contemporary features, such as a curtain-wall facade and cubic massing. The interior is also something of an art gallery. Its inner walls, columns and stairwells carry ceramic panels, reliefs and paintings by Füreya Koral, Seniye Fenmen, Atilla Galatalı, Arif Kaptan, Cevdet Altuğ and Nuri İyem, some of which are regarded as early works of modern Turkish plastic arts. In the 2010s the building, together with the 100. Yıl Çarşısı and the Ulus Çarşısı, was slated for demolition under Ankara Metropolitan Municipality's Ulus historic city square project, but after a court case the project was cancelled at the start of 2017 and the demolitions were halted. Today it still trades as an everyday shopping arcade: Yandex lists businesses inside such as clothing and evening-wear shops, children's wear, haberdashery, shoes, watches, small electricals and a pet shop. It sits beside Ulus Şehir Çarşısı and close to Ulus Hali and Ulus Square.