Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne

The Balkan Wars Memorial Cemetery in Edirne (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. 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 (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.