Türkiye celebrates Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day on May 19

Türkiye on Monday celebrated the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day, a milestone occasion marking the beginning of the country's War of Independence.

May 19, 1919 was the day when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – 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 of 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.

Young people celebrate the day by visiting Anitkabir, Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara, and also by organizing sports and cultural activities.

In a message shared by Türkiye's Communications Directorate on X, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underscored the historical significance of May 19.

"We are protecting the homeland and the Republic—sacred legacies entrusted to us by our ancestors—and we are taking steps to advance and elevate the Republic of Türkiye, which will endure forever, in every field," Erdogan said.

In Ankara, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Askin Bak led a delegation of young representatives from all 81 provinces to Anitkabir.

Minister Bak signed the guest book, writing that the torch of independence lit 106 years ago continues as unity, peace, and hope across Türkiye.