Türkiye is celebrating the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day, a milestone marking the beginning of the country's War of Independence.
19 May 1919 was the day when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – later founder of the Republic of Türkiye – arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to launch the war that four years later transformed the nation into modern Türkiye.
Ataturk was assigned the post of Inspector General of the Ottoman Armies to Anatolia when Istanbul, then the Ottoman Empire’s capital, was under occupation by the Allied forces.
He acted against the orders he was given by the Ottoman authorities and started the movement that later turned into the War of Independence. He attached great importance to the date he set foot in Samsun and considered May 19 as his birthday when he was asked to provide an exact date.
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 across the country.
Erdogan's message
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated the nation.
"I congratulate you with my sincerest feelings on May 19 Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day," Erdogan said in his message.
"The date of May 19, 1919, gifted to the Turkish youth by Gazi Mustafa Kemal, is the symbol of our ancestors' revival of the spirit of resistance with great faith and belief, even in the face of impossibilities," Erdogan said.
"May 19 is the day when the Turkish Nation began to write one of the greatest heroic epics that history has ever seen, shouting that they will not bow to oppression in unity and solidarity against imperialist forces."
"We trust our youth the most when designing and implementing our country's democracy and development breakthroughs," he said.
As Türkiye develops, and grows, "it will give more support to youth so that they can realize their dreams," Erdogan stressed.
Erdogan will join young people in a picnic in Istanbul later on Friday.
Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu will also meet young people coming from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and 81 provinces of Türkiye and will visit Anitkabir.
Other Turkish officials and political figures also mark May 19 and are scheduled to attend various events during the day.
