Türkiye marks Youth Day honoring Atatürk’s legacy
Türkiye is marking the 107th anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s arrival in Samsun on May 19, 1919, the date regarded as the beginning of the War of Independence and celebrated today as Atatürk Commemoration, Youth and Sports Day.
Atatürk’s journey to Samsun came after the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on Oct. 30, 1918, and Allied occupations spread across the country.
Greek forces landed in İzmir on May 15, 1919, while Allied troops were present in several parts of Anatolia and the Allied fleet had anchored off Istanbul in November 1918.
Mustafa Kemal, who had returned to Istanbul after serving on the fronts of World War I, began preparations for a national resistance movement under these conditions.
