Martyrs' Monument

The Turkish Military Academy (TMA) Martyrs' Monument was built to immortalize the sacred memory of the martyrs who graduated from the TMA and to let following generations be aware of the sacrifices these distinguished men have made. The TMA has trained many statesmen, commanders, leaders, and before all else, our Great Leader Atatürk since its establishment in 1834.

The Turkish Military Academy Martyrs' Monument consists of three main sections: the Pillars of Victory and Officers' Statues, the Path of Immortality and Eternity, and the Ceremony and Victory Square. These sections cover an area of 80.000 m2.

The first section of the monument displays 5 officers charging forward between the Pillars of Victory who are holding the TMA flag. The TAAA flag symbolizes the honor of the Turkish Armed Forces and the willingness to sacrifice themselves and win more victories in the name of the motherland.

The second section, the Path of Immortality and Eternity, consists of thousands of spruce and cedar trees with each tree representing a martyr: their names were printed on a plaque at the base of each tree. This section symbolizes the ascent of the spirits of our martyrs to the sky and our nation's gratitude to them for their sacrifices. The lion statues on both sides of the path symbolize the might and heroism of the Turkish Army.

The third section is the Ceremony and Victory Square. On the walls to the right and left of the steps, key battles fought since the establishment of the academy are represented. The battles shown in relief include the Gelibolu Campaign, the War of Independency, the Korean War, the Cyprus Peace Operation and the Internal Security Operation.

Initially, it was the aim to write all TMA Graduate Martyrs' names on the monument; however, due to difficulties in ascertaining these names, the fallen officers during the wars, battles and campaigns shown below have been represented by a marble plaque for each.

• Crimean War (1853-1856)
• Ottoman-Russian War (1877-1878)
• Turkish-Greek War (1897)
• Battle of Tripoli (1911)
• Balkan Campaign (1912-1913)
• World War I (1914-1918)

These marble plaques have been placed on the Martyrs' Hill at the base of each Pillar of Victory.

In order to immortalize the fallen officers who lost their lives during the War of Independence, the Korean War, Cyprus Peace Operation, the Internal Security Operation and on other various missions, a cedar tree has been planted. Each tree represents one fallen officer; their identification tags carved on marble plaques have been placed under these trees.

The cedar trees and plaques for the Martyrs of the War of Independence have been planted and placed on Martyrs' Hill and the plaques of the remaining Martyrs' have been placed on sections surrounding the hill.

Thanks to this monument, the Spirits of our Martyrs have become a united whole with the Turkish Nation, members of the Turkish Armed Forces and the TMA cadets in the literal sense. This unification is the ultimate assurance of our great nation and the Republic of Turkey.

The construction of the monument has started September 1995 and it was opened on October 8th, 1997.

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