Back in the city this was a monument to (probably) Atatürk, but (my guess) also to the "Erzurum Congress" which was held here in 1919. I took a text from the internet that seemed to give sound information (of course there is much more, that you can find for yourself): On July 3 1919, at the time of preparation for the National Liberation War, Ataturk arrived in Erzurum from Sivas. On the night of July 8-9 he sent a telegraph to the last Ottoman Sultan, Vahdettin. He announced that he resigned from the military and had returned to "the bosom of the nation". In Erzurum preparations were begun for a great congress. Shortly afterwards, on July 23 1919, the Erzurum Congress began in an old school in the district of Kavaf. It continued for 14 days until August 6 1919. The school where the Congress was held had been built in 1877-8 as a middle school after the Ottoman-Russian wars. After the Congress it was used as an Art School from 1920-21. It was used as Sultani high school from 1922-23. In 1924 it was burned to the ground. The special administration of Erzurum province built a new school on the same-site, which opened in 1926 as Gazi Primary School. Later, in 1940, the school was turned into Ataturk Construction Art School.