ANKARA
Countrywide celebrations took place on Tuesday to mark the beginning of Turkey’s War of Independence.
May 19, 1919, was the day Mustafa Kemal, later to become Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to organize the war that saw the remnants of the Ottoman Empire transformed into modern Turkey four years later.
Today, the day is marked around Turkey as Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day, a national holiday that sees young people stage sporting and cultural activities.
Anitkabir, Ataturk’s mausoleum overlooking capital Ankara, provided the focal point at the start of the day when Sports Minister Akif Cagatay Kilic, who is also a lawmaker for Samsun province, laid a wreath at Ataturk's tomb.
In a memorial message, Kilic wrote: "We are here on behalf of all youths as the strong and decisive defenders of the Republic of Turkey. Together with the young, we always prioritize tranquility and peace while keeping the values of the republic."
In a statement released on Monday evening, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the holiday was “an indication of our trust in them [the youth] and of a great responsibility that they shoulder."
Addressing Turkey’s youth, he added: "You should work more to preserve the republic, to further glorify it and to carry it to the highest level of modern civilization."
On Tuesday, Erdogan is due to receive youngsters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.
