Nene Hatun

In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 Russian troops besieged Erzurum and on the night before 8 November 1877 took the Aziziye redoubt. In the morning the townspeople — men, women and the elderly — rushed to the redoubt with whatever they could carry.

Nene Hatun, twenty years old and grieving a brother killed in the fighting, left her baby at home, joined the fight with an axe and played an active part in retaking the redoubt.

She lived a long life, died in 1955 and was buried beside the Aziziye redoubt. In Türkiye her name stands for love of country and the courage of women.