Şerife Bacı

Have you ever thought on a freezing winter day what you could do for your homeland? Şerife Bacı is one of the bravest heroes of the National Struggle years, who set out not only to protect her own child but to safeguard the future of an entire nation. Let us explore her story of profound sacrifice together.

Who Was Şerife Bacı?

^【1】Şerife Bacı was born in the early 1900s in the district of Seydiler, in Kastamonu. At that time, our country was enduring difficult days and the War of Independence was ongoing. While most men were fighting the enemy on the front lines, the women, elderly, and children left behind supported them. Şerife Bacı was one of those courageous Turkish women who did everything in her power for her homeland. ^【2】On a harsh winter day in 1921, she was assigned the task of transporting ammunition—bullets and weapons—arriving by ship in İnebolu to the front lines.

Şerife Bacı'yı temsi eden görsel (Yapay zeka ile hazırlanmıştır)

In the Path of Independence, What Happened?

^【3】It was February 1921 and everywhere was blanketed in snow. ^【4】Şerife Bacı set out with her cart, taking with her her infant child, only nine months old. Her mission was to transport the ammunition from İnebolu across the Küre Mountains to Kastamonu. The weather was so bitterly cold that snow blindness blinded her vision. To prevent the ammunition from getting wet or damaged, she took off her own coat and covered the crates with it. To protect her baby from the cold, she hid the child among the ammunition crates, placing him in a nest made of grass, and tightly wrapped him in a blanket.

Şerife Bacı'yı temsi eden görsel (Yapay zeka ile hazırlanmıştır)

A Great Sacrifice and Salvation

Though her hands and feet began to freeze, Şerife Bacı did not stop, because the soldiers desperately needed those bullets. She managed to reach the gates of the Kastamonu Barracks, but could not endure the cold any longer and fell martyred there. When morning came, soldiers noticed her cart. Şerife Bacı was found frozen in place, as if she had embraced the ammunition. When they lifted the blanket, they discovered her crying infant nestled between the crates. Şerife Bacı had sacrificed her own life to protect both the ammunition and her child.