There is a memorial, built into the side of a hill above the Kilitbahir (Lock of the Sea) fort which guards the Dardanelles.  We call this the “Dur Yolcu” memorial. Dur Yolcu is a large figure of a Turkish soldier carrying a rifle, and with his other hand he is pointing out to an inscription which is the first few lines of a famous poem by Necmettin Halil Onan:

For most Turkish people, just hearing these few lines are enough to invoke the sentiment of the full poem, which honours the 86,000 soldiers who gave their lives and the 164,000 who were wounded, defending  Turkish shores in the Galllipoli Campaign.

And so today, on the 18 March, we stop, and we remember, with the deepest respect, the courage shown by these men back in 1915, and their sacrifice for Turkey as a nation.

-Özlem Hazar

Many people in Turkey commemorate the first gathering of the Grand National Assembly (the Turkish Parliament), which took place on April 23, 1920, by attending local ceremonies or laying wreaths at monuments of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. The biggest ceremony takes place at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.

Because Ataturk dedicated the Turkish Republic to children, Turkish schoolchildren take seats in the Parliament for the day and symbolically govern the country. They elect a president who then addresses the country on national television. Children’s festivals take place throughout the country. The state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) brings children, aged eight to 14, from different countries around the world to Turkey. These children stay with Turkish families for a week and participate in children’s festivals, which culminate is a gala-performance on April 23.

Public Life

National Sovereignty and Children’s Day is an official holiday in Turkey. Government offices, schools and most businesses are closed on this day. Public transport routes may vary in the event of street performances.

-Sema Manisalı