Sakarya Şehitleri ve Zafer Anıtı Müzesi

About Sakarya Şehitleri ve Zafer Anıtı Müzesi

The Sakarya Martyrs' Victory Monument and Museum, also known as the Sakarya Victory Museum, stands on the hill called Şehitler Kaşı in Polatlı and honours the soldiers who died in the Battle of Sakarya in 1921, the turning point of the Turkish War of Independence. Work began on 13 September 1971, the battle's 50th anniversary, and the monument was opened with a ceremony on 28 October 1973, in the Republic's 50th year. It forms part of the Polatlı central section of the Sakarya Battlefield Historical National Park, alongside the Sakarya Central Martyrs' Cemetery. The monument climbs from 915 to 970 metres above sea level. Visitors enter where the stairway begins: a path of 420 steps, narrowing as it rises to suggest the conditions in which the victory was won, lined with 42 pairs of columns that stand for the days and nights the Turkish army spent in the battle. A sculpture group of a woman, a soldier and a small child symbolises the growing national consciousness and strength. Inside the monument is the museum, with busts of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, chief of general staff Fevzi Çakmak and Western Front commander İsmet İnönü, and columns inscribed with the names of the commanders, from regiment to corps level, who led units in the battle. Information and documents about the battle are also on display. The national parks directorate lists the park's cemeteries and museum sites as closed on Mondays and open 09:00 to 17:00 on other days; check before travelling, as hours can change seasonally. Polatlı can be reached by public transport from Ankara.