Erzurum’s Historic Monuments: A Walking Guide

In short: Erzurum’s main monuments stand close together in the city centre: the 13th-century Çifte Minareli Medrese with its twin minarets, the Saltukid Ulu Cami, the Three Tombs, the castle with its clock tower, the Ilkhanid Yakutiye Medrese, the Ottoman Lala Mustafa Paşa Mosque and the Rüstem Paşa Taşhan, full of Oltu stone workshops.

Last checked: 11 November 2026. Opening hours: check before you go. The Erzurum Congress building is closed to visitors (see below).

Çifte Minareli Medrese

• A Seljuk madrasa from the late 13th century; there is no founding inscription.
• Also called the Hatuniye Medrese, after a royal woman: sources name either Hundi Hatun, daughter of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad, or the Ilkhanid Padişah Hatun.
• Twin fluted brick minarets with glazed tiles rise above a richly carved portal.
• Behind the main iwan stands a large 12-sided domed tomb, possibly the founder’s.
• Since 2014 it has been part of “Anatolian Seljuk Madrasahs” on UNESCO’s Tentative List.

Üç Kümbetler (the Three Tombs)

Just south of Çifte Minareli. The largest tomb is believed to be that of Emir Saltuk, from the late 12th century; the smaller ones probably date from the 14th century.

Ulu Cami (Great Mosque)

Built in 1179 by the Saltukid emir Nasreddin Aslan Mehmed, and also known as the Atabey Mosque.

Erzurum Castle and the Tepsi Minare

The 12th-century Saltukid brick minaret of the castle mosque later served as a watchtower and, from the 19th century, as a clock tower.

Yakutiye Medrese

• Built in 1310 by Hoca Yakut Gazani in the name of Gazan Khan and Bolugan Hatun, during the reign of the Ilkhanid ruler Olcayto.
• The largest enclosed-courtyard madrasa in Anatolia, with a tile-decorated minaret and an attached tomb.
• It houses the Museum of Turkish-Islamic Arts and Ethnography. Check that the museum is open before you go.

Lala Mustafa Paşa Mosque

Built in 1562 by Lala Mustafa Paşa while he was governor of Erzurum, it was the city’s first Ottoman mosque. Its design is attributed to Mimar Sinan.

Rüstem Paşa Taşhan

A caravanserai built in 1561 by the Grand Vizier Rüstem Paşa. Today it is full of craft and souvenir shops selling jewellery and prayer beads made of black Oltu stone.

The Erzurum Congress building and Atatürk House

• Congress building: built in 1864, it hosted the Erzurum Congress in July–August 1919. It has been closed to visitors since January 2026 because of earthquake safety concerns, and the Ministry has decided to strengthen it rather than demolish it. No reopening date has been announced.
• Atatürk House Museum: Mustafa Kemal and the Congress delegation worked here from 9 July to 29 August 1919.

More about the city, skiing and day trips: see our Erzurum guide.

Sources we checked (November 2026): Go Türkiye: Erzurum · Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Çifte Minareli Medrese · Lonely Planet: Çifte Minareli Medrese · Lonely Planet: Üç Kümbetler · Lonely Planet: Lala Paşa Mosque · Kültür Portalı: Yakutiye (Turkish) · Kültür Portalı: Lala Paşa (Turkish) · Erzurum Culture and Tourism Directorate (Turkish) · Wikipedia: Çifte Minareli Medrese · Wikipedia: Yakutiye Medrese · Wikipedia: Grand Mosque of Erzurum · Wikipedia: Erzurum Castle · Wikipedia: Three Kümbets · Wikipedia: Rüstem Paşa Caravanserai · Wikipedia: Erzurum Congress · TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi: Kale Mescidi (Turkish) · Sözcü: Tepsi Minare (Turkish) · Ministry museums portal: Congress building · Ministry museums portal: Atatürk House · Cumhuriyet: Congress building closed (Turkish) · Milliyet: strengthening decision (Turkish) · NTV: Çifte Minareli and UNESCO (Turkish)

Erzurum monuments: questions

Header photo: Yakutiye Medrese. Photo: Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).