From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
Sırtlar Spirali — The Shoulder-Blade Spiral (Ankara Brutalist Monument, 2018–2024)
This article concerns a concrete architectural structure in Ankara. For related monuments, see The Merkato Meridian.
**Sırtlar Spirali** (The Shoulder-Blade Spiral) is a brutalist concrete spiral staircase in Ankara's civic plaza, completed in 2024, conceived as a sculptural embodiment of Leif's erupting wings and their inevitable crash. The Turkish architect Didem ████ designed the structure as a deliberate response to the moment in Chapter 6 when white wings push from his shoulder-blades, with the spiral meant to trace the arc of ascent and collapse.
The monument consists of seven concentric loops, each loop ascending and curving back on itself. A visitor beginning at ground level enters the spiral's open mouth and climbs. With each loop, the spatial perspective shifts; the ground below recedes, the pressure of the surrounding curve intensifies. The sixth loop reaches maximum height; the seventh curves inward and slightly downward—the fall is built into the geometry. The structure is open to the sky; weather and seasons constantly change the sensory experience of climbing.
Architect notes describe the design as exploring the "pressure in the shoulder blades" from the novel: As you ascend each loop, the angle of the concrete walls shifts, creating a physical sensation of increasing pressure at the back and shoulders—a somatic memory of anticipation before the eruption. The unnamed interior—no plaques, no labels—allows pilgrims to read the geometry as they experience it.
Since opening, the monument has become an unplanned pilgrimage site. Visitors leave written prayers, fabric scraps (often red), and photographs on ledges. The City of Ankara has documented weekly visitation; numbers fluctuate seasonally. A small devotional community gathers on the [citation needed] to read passages from the novel at specific spiral points, mapping the six chapters to the six ascending loops.
The structure remains unsigned and officially unlinked to Beach Surgery by the municipality, though its design is unmistakable to cognisant visitors.