Erzincan: Ottoman Architecture and City History

Erzincan offers several specific ways to explore its culture and city history: a mausoleum with various ways to get there, a museum with archaeological and ethnographic exhibitions, and buildings with Ottoman and more recent historical connections. These different highlights each give your trip its own distinctive focus. If you are looking for a holiday rental in Erzincan, you can first consider which cultural discoveries you would like to prioritise during your stay.

Getting to the Terzibaba Mausoleum

The Terzibaba Mausoleum can be reached from the city centre on foot, by private car or by minibuses that pass in front of the mausoleum. This gives you a choice of different means of transport for getting there. If you set out on foot, use the city centre as your starting point; if you are travelling by vehicle, you can choose between a private car and a minibus. The information about minibuses refers to vehicles that pass in front of the mausoleum. The mausoleum is therefore a specific destination for travellers who would like to include a visit to this site in their stay.

Museum and Ottoman architecture

The Erzincan Museum opened to visitors on 3 May 2023. Of its total collection of 2,934 objects, 409 are displayed in two exhibition halls: the archaeological exhibition is on the ground floor, while the ethnographic exhibition is on the first floor. This arrangement makes clear the two exhibition focuses and their locations on different floors. Visitors particularly interested in archaeology will find the relevant hall on the ground floor; for ethnographic subjects, head to the first floor. The collection figures also give a specific sense of how many objects are on display in these halls.

Another way to explore Erzincan’s history is through the Çadırcı Hamam. It was built in 1548 and is considered one of the best-preserved examples of classical Ottoman architecture in Erzincan. Its architectural features include four iwans and corner cells. There are two separate entrances on the eastern side. This gives you several specific details to note about the building: its year of construction, the iwans and corner cells, and the location of the two doors. Those interested in Ottoman architecture can explore the hamam as a distinct highlight alongside the museum collections.

The Saat Kulesi and city history

The Saat Kulesi also tells the story of how the cityscape has changed. The tower that stands today was built in place of the earlier clock tower, which was destroyed in the 1939 earthquake. As a city landmark, the Saat Kulesi represents the present-day structure; the destruction in 1939 refers to the earlier clock tower. The current tower has a prismatic square body made of dressed stone. Horizontal cornices divide it into four storeys. In this way, one building reveals both the historical sequence of the two towers and specific features of the present-day architecture.

The museum, hamam and Saat Kulesi appeal to different cultural interests: exhibitions, Ottoman architecture and city history. When planning your trip, you can consider which of these highlights you would like to focus on more. This helps shape the character of your stay without combining the sites into a single walking route. The mausoleum adds another destination to this selection, with several means of transport leading there from the city centre.

More local pages to help you plan: Üzümlü, Kavaklık Köyü, Refahiye, Cevizlik Köyü, Akarsu, Çilesiz Köyü and Erzurum.

For the broader travel overview: Erzincan.