29 October 2016•Update: 31 October 2016
By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA
The celebrations marking the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic began Saturday with a ceremony at the Anitkabir mausoleum of founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the capital Ankara.
Headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the ceremony was attended by numerous state and military officials including Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar and Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Erdogan left a star-and-crescent wreath of red and white carnations on Ataturk's tomb, and he observed a moment of silence with other attendees before the playing of the Turkish national anthem.
Referring to the defeated July 15 coup, Erdogan wrote in the mausoleum’s memorial book: "On the night of July 15, domestic and foreign circles that targeted independence, democracy, and the legal government of our country were once again defeated thanks to the nation's courage and resistance."
He added Turkey celebrated the 93rd anniversary of the Republic with "great pride and enthusiasm".
Later, Erdogan will host a reception at the Presidential Palace.
The official proclamation of the Turkish Republic by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk took place on Oct. 29, 1923 when the name of the nation and its status as a republic were declared.
A vote then took place in the Grand National Assembly and Ataturk, a revolutionary statesman, was elected first president of the Republic of Turkey by a unanimous vote.
Since then, Turkey celebrates Republic Day every year on Oct. 29.
