Mansur Yavaş 2028: Ankara, Augustus & Hacı Bayram

Par Gabriel Goldberg 15 May 2026 9 min read

The fervour of Istanbul, where the Belgian royal economic mission was in full swing , gave way to the institutional gravity of Ankara. As part of the same delegation of more than four hundred participants, our arrival in the Turkish capital was marked by a meeting at the highest level — and by a two-thousand-year-old lesson written in stone. We were received by the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş . For any observer of Turkish geopolitics, this handshake is no mere protocol formality: behind the mayor's courtesy lies, according to corridor whispers in Ankara and European chancelleries alike, the future of the country. The Belgian delegation on the steps of Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Four hundred business leaders, diplomats and officials gathered around the founder of the Turkish Republic. Contents Mansur Yavaş, the 2028 contender The miracle of Ulus: one wall, three religions The Augusteum and Augustus's testament Hacı Bayram and Sufi wisdom The scientific resurrection of a fragile monument Ankara's compass Key takeaways Reception of the Belgian economic delegation by Mansur Yavaş , mayor of Ankara and favourite for the 2028 Turkish presidential election. The Ulus quarter holds a unique case: the Temple of Augustus (25 BC) and the Hacı Bayram Mosque (15th century) share a common wall. The temple's walls bear the Res Gestae Divi Augusti , Augustus's political testament — the best preserved copy in the world. The monument is now threatened by frost,…