Atatürk’s footage released for 1st time on Victory Day

ISTANBUL

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has shared previously unreleased footage of modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the 103rd anniversary of Victory Day.

The images, uncovered from the ministry’s Directorate General of Cinema archives and released for the first time, show Atatürk being welcomed at the Florya Pavilion in Istanbul, Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in a statement.

"Thought to have been filmed in 1935 or 1936, the footage depicts the great leader at the Florya Sea Mansion, greeted by children," Ersoy noted.

"With this unparalleled footage, I extend my congratulations to our esteemed nation on Victory Day, and I pay homage with gratitude, respect and reverence to the commander-in-chief of our War of Independence, the founder of our republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as well as to our cherished martyrs and veterans."

Türkiye on Aug. 30 marked the 103rd anniversary of Victory Day, the decisive triumph that concluded the military phase of the nation’s War of Independence. Victory Day commemorates the 1922 Battle of Dumlupınar in western Kütahya, where Turkish forces under Atatürk defeated the Greek army, expelling foreign occupiers from Anatolia and paving the way for the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye a year later.