Victory Day

Few people remember that such a country like Turkey had a chance to be absent on the world map. The fact is the country, which was then called the Ottoman Empire, took part in the World War I on Germany’s side. And, of course, came into the camp of the losers. The whole empire - like Russia - was occupied by Allied countries. All Turkey has been divided into spheres of influence - French, English, Greek... They wanted to part the area and leave the Turks a piece of land in Asia Minor. Of course, they started a war of liberation, led by Kemal Ataturk, founding father of the Turkish Republic... These bloody battles lasted for several years, in which Soviet Russia took part on the side of the Turkish troops. But the fate of the Republic was decided in 1922, on the border with Greece, which aimed the destruction of Turkey as a state more then other European countries...

August 30, 1922

Despite the assistance of the Entente, the Greeks gradually retreated from the Turkish land, driven by the forces of Ataturk. The last and decisive battle took place on August 30, 1922 near Dumlupinar. Though the Greeks were already essentially defeated, the battle didn’t end easily for the Turks. The fight lasted four days and cost both sides thousands of lives... The Turkish army was commanded by Ataturk himself, who ordered the attack to begin on August 30. The Turks, who had nothing to lose - in the case of defeat, they turned out to be people without a country - showed prodigies of valour. The Greeks desperately resisted, but were defeated and fled to Izmir. Literally on their shoulders the army of Ataturk stormed the city. The bloody events were accompanied by massacres and fires, in which Greeks and Turks still blame each other... But one way or another, August 30 was the day when Turkey was finally liberated from the occupation forces. Soon foreign powers accepted independence of Turkey as a fact.

Celebration

Today the day of Victory in Turkey is one of the most revered holidays. Each year, on August 30, they held parades, mass-meetings, marches. They are accompanied by musical marches of Janissaries, brave warriors of the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul they hold concerts, theatrical performances, military parades. By the way, August 30 is celebrated as a day of victory by the inhabitants of the Turkish part of Cyprus.