Turkiye celebrates the 99th anniversary of Republic Day on Oct. 29 with official ceremonies and a series of events held throughout the country, its representations abroad and Turkish Cyprus.
Celebrations began with state officials’ visit to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,in the capital Ankara.
The government ceremony in Ankara was accompanied by various events, including concerts, parades and fireworks across the country.
The Presidential Symphony Orchestra celebrated the 99th anniversary of the republic with concerts in the capital Ankara.
A military parade was held in Vatan Street in Istanbul in the early hours of the day, while in the districts of Beşiktaş, Kadıköy and Kartal, people participated in kilometers-long “Republic Parades.”
The Communication Directorate announced that it will perform three-dimensional video mapping demonstrations at historical sites in Ankara and Istanbul on Oct. 29.
Performances were to be presented at Istanbul’s historical Haydarpaşa train station and Galata Tower, and at the Presidential Symphony Orchestra building and the Republic Museum in Ankara.
A group of children in Istanbul’s Tuzla district formed a Turkish flag by combining a 100-piece cake of 24 square meters, entering Guinness Children’s Record book.
Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar also issued a message. “The proclamation of the Republic of Turkiye, after the heroic Turkish nation won the epic War of Independence against the occupation forces, as a result of national consciousness adorned with great sacrifice, patriotism and love of freedom, inspired the Turkish nation in Cyprus and has been instrumental to the consolidation of national consciousness and the revival of the ideal of freedom,” he said.
Foreign ministers, diplomats and international organizations also congratulated Turkiye on Republic Day.
On Oct. 29, 1923, Atatürk officially declared the name of the nation and proclaimed the country’s status as a republic.
A vote then took place in the Grand National Assembly, and Atatürk, a revolutionary statesman, was elected as the first president of the Republic of Turkiye by unanimous vote. Since then, Turkiye celebrates Republic Day on Oct. 29 annually.