AT A GLANCE
Why go?
On Trabzon's Toklu seafront, the Şehitler Anıtı (Martyrs' Monument) rises as the city's tallest commemorative sculpture—a 13-metre work dedicated to the soldiers and nameless villagers of the Black Sea region who gave their lives for the homeland. Commissioned by Trabzon Municipality and set inside a purpose-built coastal park, it turns a stretch of the shoreline promenade into a place of remembrance and quiet green space.↗↗
A Monument to Trabzon's Martyrs
The monument gives physical form to a theme that runs deep in this corner of Turkey: the many lives Trabzon lost across wars and sea disasters, from the imperial campaigns of the late 19th century through the national struggle and beyond. Officials at the opening spoke of the city's tradition of sacrifice, noting that one need only head up to the highland pastures to come upon the graves of soldiers, and that countless nameless martyrs lie in the valleys and behind the forests. The sculpture was meant to gather that collective memory into a single landmark on the waterfront.↗
The work was created by Trabzon-born sculptor Orhan İlyas, and at 13 metres it stands as the highest monument in the city. That vertical ambition makes it easy to pick out against the sea-and-hills backdrop of the Black Sea coast.