Erzurum is a historic city at 1,890 metres elevation in northeastern Turkey, commanding the high plateau where ancient Silk Road caravans once crossed. The city holds one of Turkey's finest concentrations of Seljuk and Mongol architecture — the Çifte Minareli Medrese, Yakutiye Medresesi and Üç Kümbetler tombs stand beside an Ottoman castle with sweeping panoramas. Fifteen kilometres from the centre, Palandöken mountain hosts one of the Middle East's premier ski resorts. Erzurum is the birthplace of cağ kebabı, the horizontally-spit-roasted lamb unique to the region, and the origin of oltu taşı jet-stone jewellery.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Erzurum.
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1
Urartian settlements in the Erzurum plateau region; the city known as Karin
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2
Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I fortifies the city — renamed Theodosiopolis
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3
Arab Muslim forces capture Theodosiopolis; begins a period of Arab-Byzantine conflict
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4
Seljuk Turks under Tuğrul Bey defeat Byzantines at the Battle of Kapetrou nearby
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5
Battle of Manzikert (80 km north) opens Anatolia to Turkic settlement; Erzurum enters Seljuk sphere
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6
Çifte Minareli Medrese built under the Ilkhanid / Anatolian Seljuk ruler Hüdavend Hatun
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7
Yakutiye Medresesi built by Mongol governor Yakutiye for Ilkhanid ruler Olcayto
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8
Ottoman Sultan Selim I captures Erzurum from the Safavid Persians
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9
Russia briefly captures Erzurum during the Russo-Turkish War; returned to Ottomans by Treaty of Adrianople
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10
Russia occupies Erzurum following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78; returned after Congress of Berlin
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11
Russian forces under Yudenich capture Erzurum (February 1916); held until World War I armistice
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12
Mustafa Kemal chairs the Erzurum Congress — the pivotal meeting that established the national resistance movement and launched the Turkish War of Independence
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13
Turkish Republic proclaimed; Erzurum remains a major eastern Anatolian city
Historical sites
Places where Erzurum's past comes alive.
Çifte Minareli Medrese
Where: Cumhuriyet Caddesi, Erzurum
Admission: 40 TRY / ~$1.20
Yakutiye Medresesi
Where: Yakutiye Mahallesi, Erzurum
Admission: 40 TRY / ~$1.20
Erzurum Castle (Kale)
Where: Kale Mahallesi, Erzurum
Admission: 30 TRY / ~$0.90
Üç Kümbetler (Three Tombs)
Where: Cumhuriyet Caddesi, Erzurum
Admission: Free
Atatürk Congress and Ethnography Museum
Where: Kongre Caddesi, Erzurum
Admission: 30 TRY / ~$0.90
Ulu Cami (Great Mosque)
Where: Taşhan Mahallesi, Erzurum
Admission: Free
Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque
Where: Lalapaşa Mahallesi, Erzurum
Admission: Free
Rustem Pasha Caravanserai (Taşhan)
Where: Taşhan district, Erzurum
Admission: Free