Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne

Balkan Wars Memeorial Cemetery in Edirne
Edirne Balkan Savaşı Şehitliği
Turkey
File:BalkanWarsMemorialEdirne.JPG Monument of Unknown Soldier in front of the Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne.
For Turkish military and civilian casualties
Established	January 14, 1994 (1994-01-14)
Location	Sarayiçi near Edirne
Designed by	Nejat Dinçel
Burials by war
Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne

Location of Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne

File:Edirne Balkan Şehitliği.jpg

Monument in the Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne.

The Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne (Turkish: Edirne Balkan Savaşı Şehitliği), located at Sarayiçi quarter of Edirne, Turkey, is a memorial burial ground for Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), who were killed in action during the Siege of Adrianople (1912–13). It was opened to public on January 14, 1994.

Situated on the west bank of the Tunca north of Edirne, the memorial cemetery is laid out over 858 m² (9,240 sq ft). Designed by architect Nejat Dinçel and built as a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, it contains in twelve blocks the names of 100 officers and 400 soldiers on plaques.

In front of the memorial cemetery, an unknown-soldier monument with a bronze statue of an Ottoman soldier (Turkish: Mehmetçik) is erected, which was created by sculptor Tankut Öktem. The reliefs in the memorial depicting the Balkan Wars are of Metin Yurdanur.

Background

After Edirne was captured by the Bulgarian 2nd Army on March 26, 1913, Turkish prisoners of war (POW) were put in a camp at Sarayiçi, who were treated with brutality. Around 10,000 POWs died due to cold, sickness and starvation. Only the names of few military personnel could be determined from the records of the General Staff.

On March 26, 2015, the 102nd anniversary of the fall of the city was commemorated at the memorial cemetery.