From the Congress to Palandöken, Erzurum in 1919

Begin the route at the mansion in the city centre, the Atatürk House Museum. You will spend about forty five minutes at this stop and see the everyday face of the congress summer. Before going in, stop for a minute across from the building and look at the facade. The mansion is a building made up of a ground floor, a first floor and an attic above a basement. Its construction date is not known exactly, but sources estimate that it was built in the late 19th century. According to the provincial guidebook, a wealthy family of Erzurum had the mansion built, and features of the craftsmanship of the 1800s can be seen in the house.

The story of the house begins before the congress, and knowing this makes the rooms more meaningful. From 1915 to 1916 the mansion was used for about nine months as the German Consulate. After the liberation of Erzurum in the spring of 1918 it was given to the governorship as a residence, and the governor vacated the house on 3 July 1919. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, together with Hüseyin Rauf Bey and their companions, settled here on 9 July 1919. The work of the congress continued in this house for 52 days, until 29 August.

After the entrance hall, step into the room on the right. Documents, photographs, clothes and personal belongings of Kazım Karabekir, Raif Dinç and Kazım Yurdalan are exhibited here. Do not skip the room directly opposite, because the most striking object of the route stands there. The printing machine on which the declarations of the Erzurum Congress were printed is displayed in this room together with the newspapers Albayrak and Envari Şarkiye of the period. Pausing for a while in front of the machine and thinking about how a declaration was copied here and handed out turns the congress from a heading in a history book into a concrete piece of work.

Then take the stairs to the first floor. The armchairs and side tables at the top of the stairs belong to the period of Atatürk's second visit to Erzurum in 1924. In the hall on the first floor there are photographs and short biographies of the members who took part in the Erzurum Congress; reading the names one by one lets you see which cities the delegates came from. From this passage you move into the study, the reception hall and the bedroom. In the study, remember that Mustafa Kemal Pasha resigned from the army and began his civilian life in this house, because the museum counts this event among the important moments of the mansion.

There is also a short note for those curious about the later years of the house. During the visit of 13 September 1924 the mansion was presented to Atatürk on behalf of the city with a golden key and the title deed. After Atatürk's death it passed to his sister Makbule Hanım, and by her will it was handed over to the Child Protection Agency. The building passed to the Ministry of Culture in 1984 and, after repairs, opened as a museum on 3 October 1984.

Because the rooms are small, you may need to take turns at busy times. Rules on photography indoors can change, so ask the attendant at the entrance. Check the current opening days and hours on the Turkish Museums page before you go. On leaving, walk towards the Congress Building; the stretch between the two museums is a city walk of about one kilometre.

Source: Türkiye Müzeleri, Erzurum Atatürk Evi Müzesi; Erzurum İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, Turizm Rehberi.

When you reach the large stone building on Kongre Caddesi you have arrived at the heart of the route. Set aside an hour for this stop, because the building houses two separate museums together. First look at the size of the building from outside, from the lawn in front of it. According to sources the building has more than forty separate rooms; this is a trace of its having been built as a school. The Culture Portal writes that the building was commissioned by Mıgırdiç Sanasaryan and served as a school. Sources give different dates for its construction and opening, so it is most accurate to say that it was built in the second half of the 19th century.

The building's following century can also be read as if written on its facade. The building suffered a fire at the end of 1924 and its timber section burned down completely. After repairs it opened in 1926 as Gazi Primary School, and was later used as a Fine Arts High School and a Social Sciences High School. Between 2011 and 2013 it went through an extensive restoration. At the end of 2014 it was handed over to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and it has served as a museum since 2016.

Once inside, head first for the congress hall, because the meaning of the visit lies there. The Erzurum Congress met in this hall between 23 July and 7 August 1919. In the hall stand the chairman's seat where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk sat and a copy of his identity card. Names are written on the delegates' tables; you can see one by one the places of the participants who came from Trabzon, Erzurum, Sivas, Bitlis and Van. The portraits on the walls and the texts beside them tell the lives of the delegates. Stand for a while in the middle of the hall and look at the arrangement of the rows; this space conveys the scale of the meeting best.

Knowing the decisions of the congress beforehand makes the hall easier to read. The guide of the provincial culture directorate stresses that the congress is regarded as regional in the way it convened but national in the decisions it took. According to the guide, the congress decided that the homeland within the national borders is a whole and that a mandate or protectorate cannot be accepted. The same source writes that the congress accelerated the process leading to the Sivas Congress and the founding of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.

After touring the congress section, move on to the building's other museum, the Erzurum Painting and Sculpture Museum. The museum was founded in 1963 and settled in this building after moving several times. The collection reflects different periods of Turkish painting. Slow your pace as you walk among works by artists such as Şeref Akdik, Bahattin Akay, Mustafa Aslıer, Halis Üstündağ and Hüseyin Yüce.

Before leaving the building, look once more at the front facade, this time from the corner of the lawn; that is the widest angle for a photograph. Check the museum's current visiting days on the Culture Portal or the ministry's museum pages before you go. After this, the walking part of the route ends. To reach the Aziziye Redoubt, get into a vehicle and head east of the city, towards the Kars road.

Source: Kültür Portalı, Erzurum Resim Heykel Müzesi ve Kongre Binası; Erzurum İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, Turizm Rehberi.

In the east of the city, north of the military barracks on the Kars road and about three kilometres from the city centre, you reach the Aziziye Redoubt. Spend an hour at this stop, because what you look at here is not a single building but a line of defence. The redoubt stands on a ridge at the southern tip of Top Dağı, at an altitude of more than two thousand metres. Today the area lies inside the Nene Hatun Historical National Park; the site, which for many years remained in a military security zone, was declared a historical national park of 387 hectares in 2009.

As a first step, turn your back to the city and look east to understand why the redoubt is here. The redoubt was built between 1867 and 1872 by order of Sultan Abdülaziz and to a design by Fosfor Mustafa Pasha, in order to control the Erzurum to Kars road. The Culture Portal counts twenty one redoubts built on hills with wide views around Erzurum and writes that the most important of them are the Mecidiye and Aziziye redoubts just east of the city. The view of the road and the plain stretching ahead of you explains better than any account why this ridge was chosen.

Then approach the structure and try to read its plan. According to the provincial guide, the Aziziye Redoubt has a U shaped plan, with the command units in its western part. The other sections consist of vaulted rooms entered through round arched doorways. Look carefully at the walls; the eastern and northern walls are built of smooth cut stone and the others of rubble stone. The Culture Portal notes that in these redoubts solidity was given priority over architectural style and that the rows of rooms were covered with a thick layer of earth. The rooms range from three to four metres in width and from six to fourteen and a half metres in depth.

In front of the redoubt there are two memorial points, and both deserve a pause. One is the Aziziye Monument built in 1953, the other is the grave of Nene Hatun, one of the emblematic names of the war of 1877-1878. According to the study on the redoubts published in DergiPark, when news reached the city on the night of 8 November 1877 that the redoubt had fallen, the townspeople took up whatever they could find and ran to the redoubt, and Nene Hatun became the symbol of this struggle. Nene Hatun was named Mother of the Year in 1955, died in the same year and was buried beside the monument. Every November a commemorative walk in her name is held to the Aziziye and Mecidiye redoubts.

If you have time, also look at the two other Aziziye redoubts nearby. The second redoubt lies about two hundred metres north of the first and is remembered as the first redoubt to fall and be retaken in the raid of 1877. The third redoubt stands out with its regular hexagonal plan; basalt was used in the door and window arches and dark brown limestone in the walls.

Because the area is on an open and windy ridge, bring water and a windbreaker. Do not climb on top of the historic walls and take care not to touch the stones, because the structures are fragile. This is a memorial site, so be quiet and respectful. For visiting conditions, see the current announcements of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. From here you will drive back to the south of the city and go up Palandöken.

Source: Kültür Portalı, Erzurum Tabyalar; Aksoy, Erzurum Tabyaları Kültür Rotası Önerisi, DergiPark.

The last stop of the route is Palandöken Mountain, which encircles Erzurum like a bow from the south. Set aside two hours here and use that time according to the season. The mountain is very close to the city centre; the nature booklet of the provincial culture directorate gives the distance as about five kilometres. Its name is said to come from the words palan, a donkey's packsaddle, and döken, meaning one that spills; it is a reference to the loads strapped to the saddle tipping over on the steep paths.

As you go up the mountain, first turn and look back at the city, because the whole route can be seen together from here. The centre you toured in the morning, Top Dağı to the east where the redoubts stand, and the plain on which the city sits stretch out below. Because Erzurum itself was founded at an altitude of about one thousand eight hundred and fifty metres, the mountain looks lower than it is when seen from the city, despite its summit of more than three thousand metres. The highest point of the mountain is known as Ejder Tepesi; sources give the summit height at slightly differing values above three thousand one hundred metres.

If you come in winter, Palandöken is above all a ski area. The mountain was declared a Winter Tourism Centre in 1993. According to the nature booklet, the longest run reaches twelve kilometres and the difference in height between the top and bottom of the runs comes to one thousand one hundred metres. The Ejder and Kapıkaya runs are registered by the International Ski Federation; because some runs are lit, night skiing is also possible. The mountain hosted the 2011 Winter Universiade, and according to the provincial guide it held the title of European Capital of Winter Sports in 2025. Because the ski season, the chairlifts and the state of the runs change every year, get up to date information from the announcements of the operating body.

If you come in summer, the mountain takes on another face and becomes suitable for walking. According to Wikipedia there is no technical climbing difficulty, but because of the high altitude and rapidly changing weather keep your walk short and bring layered clothing. In May a species of bellflower reported to be found only on this mountain, Campanula palandokenensis, blooms on the slopes; do not pick the flowers. A part of the 19th century line of defence also stands on the mountain: on the Erzurum to Tekman road, at a high point of the mountain, the Great Palandöken Redoubt is according to the provincial guide the largest redoubt of Erzurum.

If you have planned to spend the end of the day here, stop towards sunset at a point overlooking the city. The late afternoon light paints the city on the plain in a soft colour, and it is the best moment to gather the places you have toured since morning in a single frame. Start heading down before dark, because at altitude the temperature falls quickly once the sun sets. Be sure to check the state of the mountain road and the weather forecast before you go up.

Source: Erzurum İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, Doğal Güzellikler; Wikipedia, Palandöken Dağı.