Thousands march to commemorate Sarıkamış anniversary

KARS

Scores of people gathered in the eastern province of Kars on Jan. 5 to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the Sarıkamış Campaign, marking the 110th anniversary of the tragic event during World War I.

Traveling to the region from various locations of the country, citizens carrying Turkish flags marched to the ceremonial ground in the Sarıkamış district in the early hours despite the bitterly cold weather.

At the Kızılçubuk assembly area, many individuals took photographs with life-sized snow sculptures of Ottoman soldiers, created specifically for the event. The sculptures, along with the gathering, served as a tribute to the thousands of Ottoman soldiers who perished in the freezing mountains during the Sarıkamış Campaign.

Speaking to the reporters, Mecit Birsen, a citizen taking part in the event, emphasized that they marched to honor both the fallen soldiers and the nation. "It was the love for the motherland that kept the soldiers warm in these harsh conditions, and it is that same love that is sustaining us through this freezing cold," he said.

Melisa Papakçı, another participant, also underlined that they gathered in the area solely to remember the thousands of fallen soldiers.

Numerous officials, including Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel, participated in the commemorative event.

As part of the two-day commemorative program, scores of people also came together in a torchlight march on Jan. 4.

Teams from the Turkish Aeronautical Association welcomed the audience with the unveiling of the Turkish flag and a banner bearing a picture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, during a paramotor demonstration.

A supper event was also held in honor of the families of fallen soldiers and veterans, with the participation of Göktaş.

In an effort to honor the fallen soldiers of the tragic chapter, around 3,000 citizens from the Black Sea province of Trabzon also participated in a commemorative march on Sis Mountain in the city’s Şalpazarı district. Participants carried a massive Turkish flag during the march across the thick snow on the mountain, which stands at 2,200 meters above sea level.

All the commemorative events, held under the theme “This Land Bears the Mark of Sacrifice,” paid tribute to around 60,000 Ottoman soldiers who lost their lives for the sake of their motherland during the campaign aimed at reclaiming Russian-occupied territories, marking one of the most sorrowful periods in the Ottoman history.