Turkish president, public sing national anthem in honor of May 19

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the entire Turkish nation on Wednesday united to sing the national anthem at 19.19 hours (7.19 p.m., 1619 GMT) to mark May 19, the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day.

The time represented the date May 19, 1919, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – founder of the Turkish Republic – arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to launch the war that four years later transformed the nation into modern Turkey.

With mass gatherings avoided due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the country in Turkey headed out to their balconies and windows to sing the Istiklal Marsi (March of Independence) at the appointed time.