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Turkey on Monday commemorated Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic, on the 87th anniversary of his death with an official ceremony at Anıtkabir, his mausoleum in the capital Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, Cabinet members, party leaders, senior judicial officials, and top military commanders attended the ceremony.
Erdogan laid a wreath of red and white carnations shaped like the Turkish flag on Atatürk’s tomb. At 9:05 a.m. (0605 GMT) — the moment of Atatürk’s passing participants observed a minute of silence, followed by the national anthem, as the Turkish flag was lowered to half-staff.
Afterward, Erdogan and accompanying officials proceeded to the Misak-ı Milli Tower, where the president signed the Anıtkabir Memorial Book, pledging to preserve Atatürk’s legacy.
“We passionately safeguard the Republic of Turkey, which you described as your ‘greatest work,’ and continue to enrich every inch of our homeland with new achievements,” Erdogan wrote, adding that the country “is advancing confidently on its path to becoming a global power.”
Atatürk, who led Turkey’s War of Independence and founded the Republic in 1923, served as its first president until his death on Nov. 10, 1938, at the age of 57.
Every year, millions of citizens visit Anıtkabir to honor Atatürk’s memory and reaffirm their commitment to his vision for modern Turkey.