Türkiye celebrates Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day on May 19

Türkiye on Tuesday celebrated the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day, a milestone occasion marking the beginning of the country's War of Independence.

May 19, 1919 was the day when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – founder of the Republic of Türkiye – arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to launch the war that would, four years later, transform the nation into modern Türkiye.

Ataturk was assigned the post of Inspector General of the Ottoman Armies in Anatolia when Istanbul, then the Ottoman Empire’s capital, was under occupation by the Allied forces.

He acted against the orders given by the Ottoman authorities and started the movement that later became the War of Independence.

He also attached great importance to the date when he set foot in Samsun and considered May 19 as his birthday when he was asked to provide an exact date of birth.

In 1938, Ataturk dedicated May 19 to the youth of the Turkish nation as Youth and Sports Day – a national holiday that sees young people take part in sporting and cultural activities with official ceremonies held throughout the country.

Young people celebrate the day by visiting Anitkabir, Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara, and also by organizing sports and cultural activities.

In a message shared on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated all youth living in Türkiye and abroad.

“I respectfully commemorate Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Commander-in-Chief of our National Struggle, his comrades-in-arms, and the heroic members of our military, known as the Prophet’s Hearth,” he said.

“I remember with mercy our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our nation, and I wish our veterans a healthy and prosperous life,” he added.

Separately, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Askin Bak and his accompanying delegation consisting of deputy ministers, general directors, athletes, youth participants and other officials visited Anitkabir.

After Bak placed a wreath adorned with red and white carnations bearing the words “Ministry of Youth and Sports” at the mausoleum, a moment of silence was observed, followed by the singing of the Turkish National Anthem.

Bak also signed the Anitkabir Memorial Book, writing “May 19, the first step toward liberation, symbolizes our nation’s resistance against oppression, its rebirth, and its determination for independence. This sacred legacy entrusted to Turkish youth by you continues to live on today with the same faith, spirit, and direction.”