15.07.2025 12:23
During the coup attempt organized by FETÖ on July 15, 2016, the struggle of citizens against the coup soldiers in Istanbul that dark night is etched in our memories. What happened in Istanbul during the coup attempt, in which we lost 252 martyrs and 2,740 veterans?
The city of Istanbul, which was one of the places where the bloodiest events occurred during the coup attempt of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) on July 15, 2016, saw security forces and citizens put up a great struggle to stop the coup plotters.
With the coup plotters raining bullets on the people, the name of the Bosphorus Bridge, where 34 people were martyred, was changed to "15 July Martyrs Bridge" after that dark night. In the coup attempt, where 5 police officers, 3 soldiers, and 92 civilians lost their lives, the images of citizens stopping FETÖ-affiliated military personnel at important points in the city were unforgettable.
COUP PLOTTERS TARGETED THE MOST STRATEGIC AREAS IN ISTANBUL In the bloody coup attempt, which involved over 8,000 military personnel affiliated with FETÖ infiltrated into the Turkish Armed Forces, and utilized 35 aircraft including fighter jets, 3 ships, 37 helicopters, 246 armored vehicles (74 of which were tanks), and nearly 4,000 light weapons, the coup plotters targeted the most strategic areas in Istanbul.
“FIRE IF THERE IS RESISTANCE” INSTRUCTION During the coup preparation process, 17 coup plotter officers held coup meetings at the General Nurettin Baransel Barracks in Maltepe between July 12-15, and the operations and deployments in Istanbul were carried out based on the decisions made in these meetings. The colonel of the time, Muzaffer Düzenli, who came to Istanbul from Ankara for the coup, instructed the soldiers on the night of the coup, "Fire if there is resistance."
In line with the decisions taken, an alert was issued at the Kuleli Military High School around 8:00 PM. With the alert, preparations were made, and 2 unimogs headed towards the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, while another 2 unimogs headed towards the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
The then Istanbul Police Chief Mustafa Çalışkan instructed the law enforcement forces to protect their positions and resist the coup plotters.
BRIDGES WERE CLOSED TO TRAFFIC The soldiers moving from the Kuleli Military High School unilaterally closed the traffic direction from Anatolia to Europe on the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
The inexplicable military activity was first reported on television channels.
The aircraft under the control of the coup plotters attempted to scare the public by flying low over the city and creating sonic booms, trying to prevent them from going outside.
In a connection to a television channel, the then Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım described the events around 11:10 PM as a "coup attempt," announcing that a group within the Turkish army was attempting a coup. Following Yıldırım's statements, reactions to the coup poured in from various segments, especially on social media.
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN'S CALL TO THE SQUARES At 12:24 AM, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan connected to CNN Türk and called on the nation to stand against the coup plotters and gather in the squares, while prayers were recited from mosques.
After the call, citizens of all ages and from every neighborhood of the city rushed to areas including the front of President Erdoğan's residence in Kısıklı, Atatürk Airport, the Greater Istanbul Municipality, the front of the Provincial Police Department, and Taksim Square, carrying flags.
THE SYMBOLIC POINT OF THE COUP ATTEMPT At 1:40 AM, soldiers opened fire on thousands of patriots who rushed to the Bosphorus Bridge. In the attacks, which also involved the use of tanks, 34 people, including police officers Münür Alkan, Kemal Tosun, and advertiser Erol Olçok along with his son Abdullah Tayyip, were martyred.
The name of the bridge, which became the symbolic point of that bloody night, was later changed to "15 July Martyrs Bridge."
At the entrance of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on the Anatolian side, 2 people were martyred, while a citizen was crushed by a tank near Ümraniye Çakmak Bridge.
FIGHTER JETS FLEW LOW In Istanbul, the fighter jets under the control of the coup plotters flew low over the bridge and various districts around 3:20 AM, while FETÖ members carried out sonic booms with F-16s.
In an attempt to seize the Çevik Kuvvet Branch Directorate in Bayrampaşa, 58 soldiers, including 17 officers, who set out from the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command in Sultangazi, faced resistance from the police.
As the coup plotters were repelled by the citizens who came to support, one citizen was martyred, and 16 others were injured.
67 coup plotters who reached the front of the Vatan Police Department were also unsuccessful against the resistance of the police and the public. The coup plotters, who surrounded the Istanbul Police Department with 4 tanks and a Sikorsky, were detained by the police thanks to the citizens surrounding the armored vehicles.
One of the tanks was found to have a 4th Class Police Chief, Mithat Aynacı, who was captured after being pulled out by citizens and was found to be acting in concert with the coup plotters.
In the events that took place in front of the AK Party Fatih District Presidency on Vatan Avenue, Mehmet Güder was martyred.
As the coup plotters' attempt to occupy Vatan Avenue failed, the people there rushed to the front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) in Saraçhane. The coup plotters, who opened fire on the crowd in front of the IMM, martyred 14 people, including Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank.
The Istanbul Governorship was occupied by 90 soldiers, including 12 officers, who came from the 47th Mechanized Motorized Infantry Regiment Command in Metris Barracks.
Police Chief Cengiz Demircan, facing 90 soldiers with only 9 police officers, tried to stall the coup plotters while some soldiers broke the door of the mosque at the back and entered the governor's building. The teams there, with the support of citizens, managed to neutralize the coup plotters.
To support the soldiers in the governor's office, 24 coup plotter soldiers who set out with two tanks from Metris Barracks were stopped by the police and the public near the Golden Horn.
COUP PLOTTERS REQUESTED FOOD One of the targets of the coup plotters was the Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) belonging to the IMM, which had nearly 3,000 cameras.
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To take over this place, soldiers from the 6th Motorized Infantry Regiment at Hasdal Barracks entered the server rooms to try to block the system and disable cameras and screens. As a result of the fire opened on the citizens surrounding the building, 6 people were injured.
The İBB Logistics Support Center and Beekeepers Mosque in Kağıthane were also seized by 28 soldiers from the 6th Motorized Infantry Regiment. The coup plotters ordered the personnel here to meet the food needs of all units and requested three meals sufficient for 10,000 people.
The coup soldiers who arrived at the Acıbadem Türk Telekom Regional Directorate also tried to clear the area by blocking traffic. Seven people, including the muhtar Mete Sertbaş, were martyred as the coup plotters fired at those who resisted.
STUDENTS FROM YALOVA MILITARY ACADEMY WERE BROUGHT Three officers and two privates brought 70 Air Force Academy students who were in camp in Yalova to Istanbul for support with two buses, but they were stopped by police teams in Kavacık before reaching the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. During the searches, 20,000 G3 rifle cartridges were found in 20 crates intended for the students.
Soldiers from the 47th Infantry Regiment, fully equipped and armed, occupied the AK Party Provincial Headquarters building at 11:15 PM with 7 open land and unimog vehicles. Citizens did not leave some AK Party mayors and officials alone. The soldiers were sent back to their barracks by buses brought to the scene in the early morning.
Police officers on duty at the Çengelköy Police Station took precautions by parking police vehicles in a way that would block the station's door and the road.
The tradesmen here sided with the police against the coup plotters who demanded the road to be opened, claiming that martial law had been declared. When the soldiers who opened fire realized they were unsuccessful against the resistance of the police and citizens, they retreated at 5:48 AM. During the events here, 7 people, including journalist Mustafa Cambaz, were martyred, and 62 people were injured.
CITIZENS WENT TO ERDOĞAN'S HOUSE FOR SUPPORT Thousands of people in Istanbul, reacting to the coup attempt, gathered in Üsküdar Kısıklı, where President Erdoğan's house is located.
One of the unforgettable images of that night also took place here. Sabri Ünal, who was run over by a tank twice, was injured in one arm.
After the statements of President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Yıldırım, citizens began to gather in Taksim Square as well. The coup plotters, who tried to maintain control around the Republic Monument, ignored the public's warnings to "return to the barracks." As a result of firing at the public and police, 39 people were injured.
OCCUPATION OF TRT BUILDINGS A group of coup plotters occupied the TRT Ulus campus by telling the security personnel, "There is a terrorist threat, evacuate the building quickly." Around 10:30 PM, helicopters landed in the garden of the TRT building. As a result of the reaction from citizens who came to the building, 5 people, including coup plotter Colonel Hüseyin Ergezen, escaped in civilian clothes around 6:00 AM, while the other coup plotters surrendered at 7:45 AM.
Another target of the coup plotters was the TRT building in Harbiye.
A group of soldiers who came out of Hasdal Barracks entered the building and falsely told the security personnel, "There is a bomb threat." During the events here, 3 people were martyred, and approximately 50 citizens were injured.
LOW FLYING FROM ATATÜRK AIRPORT The coup plotters closed the gates of Atatürk Airport with tanks at 10:15 PM. Soldiers who seized the control tower halted flights. F-16 jets flew low over the airport, preventing passenger planes from landing and taking off. The coup plotters opened fire on the thousands of people gathered there. Mahir Ayabak, a 17-year-old on the runway, was martyred, while dozens were injured.
Metin Doğan lying in front of the tank in front of Atatürk Airport became another unforgettable image of July 15.
28 soldiers, including officers and non-commissioned officers, who came out of the General Nurettin Baransel Barracks in Maltepe, which was used as a base by the coup plotters, occupied Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Fire was opened on the citizens who gathered at the airport and did not allow the coup plotters to pass.
President Erdoğan, who left the hotel where he was vacationing in Marmaris before the assassination attempt, landed at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, which had been cleared of coup plotters, at 3:20 AM.
ANTI-COUP SOLDIERS ALSO JOINED THE RESISTANCE Anti-coup soldiers also showed resistance against the coup plotters that night, while the Commander of the War Academies, Lieutenant General Tahir Bekiroğlu, was taken from his home by orderlies and imprisoned in Hadımköy Military Prison.
In Tuzla, Admiral Mesut Özel, the Commander of the Naval War Academy, was taken by 9 coup plotters, gagged, handcuffed, and stripped of his rank before being placed in Maltepe Military Prison. Rear Admiral Tayyar Ertem, the Commander of the Naval War Academy, was also detained by the coup plotters.
Coup plotters attempting to detain the then Commander of the 1st Army, General Ümit Dündar, were unsuccessful.
FETÖ-affiliated soldiers who went to the Fenerbahçe Officers' Club, where high-ranking officers stayed, tried to control some generals who might show an anti-coup stance.
In the 66th Armored Brigade, Infantry Staff Colonel Sait Ertürk and his friends showed heroic resistance. 47-year-old Ertürk, who was on duty at the 3rd Corps Command, contacted his comrades when he learned of the coup attempt.
Ertürk prevented the 66th Armored Brigade from supporting the coup attempt with the struggle he gave. Colonel Ertürk and his team established two teams to prevent tanks, weapons, and soldiers from leaving, stopping the movement within the brigade.
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Sait Ertürk was martyred with a single bullet while the Commander of Kartaltepe Barracks, Infantry Colonel Davut Ala, was seriously injured after being hit by 7 bullets.
THEY CLOSED ENTRANCES TO ISTANBUL The Kartal Bridge and Samandıra toll booths were closed by 117 coup plotters from the 23rd Motorized Infantry Regiment in Sancaktepe to stop entries from Anatolia to Istanbul. 11 citizens resisting the coup were injured here.
The Mahmutbey and Ispartakule toll booths were closed by 36 soldiers from the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command in Sultangazi to prevent entries to Istanbul from Thrace. In the incidents at Tuzla Orhanlı toll booths and the Mehmetçik Foundation, 6 people were martyred, and 42 people were injured.
Five people resisting against the coup were crushed by a tank on the Edirne direction of the Old Hal Road in Esenler and were martyred.
15 FETÖ soldiers occupied Borsa Istanbul in Sarıyer. The coup plotters martyred police officer Mehmet Şevket Uzun and Fatih Satır here, injuring 46 others.
MEDIA RESISTED THE COUP During FETÖ's bloody coup attempt on July 15, an order was given to evacuate the CNN Türk building and to cease broadcasting, with weapons pointed at the employees. Gunfire was opened on police officers and gathered citizens. After the citizens' resistance was halted, the coup plotters surrendered in the following hours.
The coup plotters who landed by helicopter at Vodafone Arena Stadium in Beşiktaş occupied the Digitürk building and fired at the devices when they could not stop the broadcast. After the police arrived, negotiations led to the surrender of the coup plotters.
The then Governor of Istanbul, Vasip Şahin, announced on a television channel around 06:00 that "The state is in control of the situation," declaring that the treacherous coup attempt had been thwarted.
The coup plotters who set up a barricade on the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge surrendered at 06:42.
With the deaths on the night of July 15 and those who died afterward, a total of 100 people were martyred in the coup attempt, which constituted the key point of the treacherous uprising in Istanbul.
In the July 15 treacherous coup attempt, we lost a total of 252 martyrs, including military and civilians, and 2,740 veterans.
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