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The Erzurum redoubts: Aziziye and Nene Hatun
Photo: Eğitmen Mahmut / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Editor's route Remembrance and mourning

The Erzurum redoubts: Aziziye and Nene Hatun

The redoubts that protected Erzurum in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 (the "War of '93") and a night the city has never forgotten: the Aziziye Redoubt, taken in a surprise attack in November 1877, was retaken in a counter-attack by the townspeople, who took up arms alongside the soldiers. Half a day from Erzurum Castle to the Mecidiye and Aziziye redoubts, and on to the martyrs' cemetery where Nene Hatun is also buried.

DurationHalf day
Walk≈ 2.5 km
Stop4
Tickets0
AP

AnatoliaPass editorsRemembrance and mourning collection · last checked 23 October 2026

The story in 4 parts

The story of Aziziye

Part 1Fortress of the East

For centuries Erzurum was one of the most important fortress cities of Eastern Anatolia. In the 19th century, redoubts were built on Top Dağı east of the city against the Russian advance: the Mecidiye Redoubt in 1852–1855 and, according to sources, the Aziziye redoubts between 1867 and 1872.

Part 2The War of '93

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 is known as the "War of '93" after the year 1293 in the Rumi calendar. In November 1877 the Russian army reached the outskirts of Erzurum; Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa, who led the defence, used the Mecidiye Redoubt as his command centre.

Part 3A surprise attack by night

On a night that sources give variously as 7–8 or 8–9 November, Russian troops took the Aziziye Redoubt in a surprise attack. In the morning, the people of Erzurum, men and women alike, marched on the redoubt together with the soldiers and retook it. Many people on both sides died in the fighting.

Part 4Nene Hatun

Among those who joined the counter-attack was the young Nene Hatun, who had lost her elder brother Hasan the night before. Nene Hatun died on 22 May 1955 and was buried in the martyrs' cemetery beside the redoubt. Part of what is told rests on popular tradition; every November, Erzurum remembers that night by walking to the redoubt.

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Respect guidelines
  • Be quiet in martyrs' cemeteries, cemeteries and memorials: people still come here to remember their loved ones.
  • Do not step on graves or climb on memorials; do not pose for photos in front of headstones and names.
  • Do not photograph anyone praying, laying flowers or crying; if a ceremony is taking place, follow the officials' directions.
  • Do not climb onto the walls or unguarded edges of the redoubts; do not enter fenced-off buildings.

Remembrance and mourning (grief tourism) means visiting places people go to remember loss and share grief: martyrs' cemeteries, war cemeteries, monuments, historic cemeteries and museums that preserve the memory of disasters. Every place here is an officially open memorial site; we don't include very recent tragedies that people are still grieving, or contested sites. At these places, someone may still be remembering a loved one: keep quiet, don't pose for photos, and don't photograph anyone praying.

Make your own version
  1. 1

    Erzurum Castle

    Start: central Erzurum, just north of the Çifte Minareli Medrese · stay 40 min

    The citadel in the middle of the city; the minaret inside it, later used as a clock tower, can be picked out from afar. Looking east from here to Top Dağı, where the fighting took place in 1877, you can see how the redoubts protected the city like a ring.

    Erzurum Castle
    Photo: Zeynel Cebeci / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Check the castle's opening hours before you go.

  2. 2

    Mecidiye Redoubt

    ≈ 10 min by taxi (≈ 3 km) east, Nene Hatun Historical National Park · stay 30 min

    A dressed-stone redoubt built in 1852–1855; the command centre of Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa, who led the defence in 1877. The 378-hectare area containing the Mecidiye and Aziziye redoubts was declared Nene Hatun Historical National Park in 2009.

    Mecidiye Redoubt
    Photo: Dosseman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The redoubt is fenced off and the interior is not open to visitors; it can only be seen from outside. Check its current status before you go. (Photo: 2006.)

  3. 3

    Aziziye Redoubt

    ≈ 5 min by car or ≈ 20 min on foot (1.3 km) east · stay 45 min

    A defensive line of redoubts arranged in a C shape at the foot of Top Dağı to hold the Hamam Deresi valley, through which the Kars road passes. At the top of the entrance stairs there are cannons and a martyrs' monument; the surprise attack and counter-attack of November 1877 took place here. Every November the people of Erzurum walk here to remember that night.

    Aziziye Redoubt
    Photo: Eğitmen Mahmut / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    The floors of the redoubt rooms are uneven; keep away from unguarded edges.

  4. 4

    Aziziye Martyrs' Cemetery and the grave of Nene Hatun

    ≈ 3 min walk (200 m) · stay 30 min

    The cemetery of those who died in 1877 and the grave of Nene Hatun, who died in 1955; the grave was restored and reopened to visitors in 2019. On the road between the redoubts there is also a statue of Nene Hatun by Metin Yurdanur.

    Aziziye Martyrs' Cemetery and the grave of Nene Hatun
    Photo: Eğitmen Mahmut / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

One more day? Bursa.

Outside Istanbul

≈ 2 h 15 min · fast ferry + bus · Day trip

Why here: The first Ottoman capital. The Green Mosque, the Grand Mosque and Koza Han make an easy day trip; we suggest it if you are staying in Istanbul for more than four days. Not part of this route.

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