Turkish public sing national anthem in honor of May 19

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the entire Turkish nation on May 19 united to sing the national anthem at 19.19 hours (7.19 p.m., 1619 GMT) to mark May 19, the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.

The time represented the date May 19, 1919, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - founder of the Turkish Republic - arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to launch the war that four years later transformed the nation into modern Turkey.

With mass gatherings avoided due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the country in Turkey headed out to their balconies and windows to sing the Istiklal Marsi (March of Independence) at the appointed time.

19th may,