Republic Monument

The nation is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic with celebratory events across the country, paying tribute to the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Commemorations are spread across major cities, bringing citizens together for concerts, parades and public gatherings.

The Republic Museum has opened at Istanbul's Taksim Republic Square. Taksim Maksemi (cistern), one of the symbol buildings of the square, opened its doors on June 8 as the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Republic Museum after a restoration and re-functional works of IBB Heritage.

A geologist from Istanbul Technical University has claimed that fossils on some 145-million-year-old stones used at the base of the Republic Monument, a notable monument located at Istanbul's Taksim Square, have come to the surface.

"When you look at the monument, you can see fossils clearly," Serkan Angı, who is also a natural stone specialist, told daily Hürriyet on March 15.