A mob arson attack killed 37 people at a hotel in Sivas, Turkey, targeting Alevi intellectuals and festival attendees.
Key Facts
- Date
- 2 July 1993
- Total victims killed
- 37 people
- Perpetrators killed
- 2 people
- Location
- Hotel Madımak (Otel Madımak), Sivas, Turkey
- Occasion
- Pir Sultan Abdal cultural festival
- Method
- Mob arson of the hotel
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A mob gathered outside the Hotel Madımak in Sivas during the Pir Sultan Abdal festival, a cultural event attended by Alevi intellectuals, artists, and community members. Tensions escalated as the crowd turned hostile toward the attendees assembled inside the hotel.
On 2 July 1993, the mob set fire to the Hotel Madımak, trapping the festival participants inside. The arson resulted in the deaths of 37 people, including Alevi women, children, and intellectuals. Two of the perpetrators also died during the incident.
The massacre became one of the most traumatic events in modern Turkish history for the Alevi community. It sparked widespread public outrage, lengthy judicial proceedings, and an ongoing debate in Turkey over justice, impunity, and the preservation of the hotel as a site of memory.