Climbers work on glass roof of Ankara Cumhuriyet Tower

ANKARA

The glass roof of the capital Ankara's tallest building, the 197-meter-high Ankara Cumhuriyet Tower, which is expected to be completed on March 15, is being constructed by 11 professional climbers.

The tower, whose construction began in 2003 but was halted several times due to being contrary to the urban development plan, saw the work restarted in 2020 and will be completed on March 15.

The construction work of the tower has reached the final stage. The 197-meter-high tower's glass roof is being built by climbers. The 11 climbers working on the tower are meticulously assembling the pieces of the glass roof under intense safety measures.

Climber Tuğrul Barış, who took part in the roof assembly works of the tower, stated that he was pleased to take part in this project and said, "We are always involved in works such as exterior glass replacement, LED assembly, ventilation, machine assemblies. The Cumhuriyet Tower was an ongoing work in Ankara for 23 years. It is an honor for us to take part in this project.”

Adding that young people are also very interested in the profession, Barış said, "We currently have eight young people in our team, 18 and 19 years old, who are beginners in the profession, and this interest is gradually increasing. It is a job to be done with love," he said.

Another climber Yusuf Çelik explained that he started this job despite his fear of heights, but over time he overcame this fear and said, "Every time I climb, there is a sense of uneasiness, but we get used to it. The difficult parts are the height and weather conditions. In this job, work accidents usually happen due to negligence. We have never come across anything like the rope breaking.”

Pointing out that the equipment should be proper and robust, Çelik said, "If the robustness of the equipment is taken care of, I don't think there will be any work accidents. It is a very nice job, I would recommend it to people who want to do it and have courage."