Huge crowds flock to 19 May meeting at Atatürk mausoleum

ANKARA

DHA Photo

Turkey’s May 19 Youth and Sports Day was been marked by a huge crowds in the capital Ankara, as a concert took place at the “Anıtkabir” mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for the first time in 17 years, in coordination with the mausoleum’s military command.

Anıtkabir was open until midnight on May 19 for the concert, attracting large crowds.

Marking Youth and Sports Day, a painting that showed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, riding a horse to Samsun, where the Turkish Independence War had started, was put in the Anıtkabir compound and candles were lit.

Among the attendees were many wavering Turkish flags and brandishing pictures of Atatürk.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also attended the ceremony.

The concert was the first to take place in 17 years, since the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1998. The concert, organized by the Anıtkabir Command, hosted the pianist Gülsin Onay who performed a repertoire including pieces by Chopin, Mozart and Adnan Saygun.

Opera singers Feryal Türkoğlu and Hakan Aysev sang a number of folk songs known to have been loved by Atatürk, accompanied by the Turkish Armed Forces Harmony Band Orchestra led by Tarık Tal.