Atatürk’s mausoleum to open for 24 hours to mark Gallipoli victory
ANKARA
The 1915 battle took place in the Dardanelles Strait in the Çanakkale province’s district of Gallipoli, as Ottoman forces repelled the invading Allied forces who were seeking to force their way through to Istanbul during World War I.
A number of historians say the success of Mustafa Kemal’s early orders to the defending 57th Infantry Regiment were crucial for the outcome of the campaign, which then dragged on as trench warfare for months before the Allied forces ultimately retreated.
From the night of April 24 throughout April 25, Atatürk’s mausoleum, known as Anıtkabir, will remain open, except for the museum section.
During the ceremony jointly organized by the Industrialist, Entrepreneur and Investor Businessmen Association (SAGİYAD) and the military unit inside Anıtkabir, “peace lanterns” will be released into the sky.
At 4:00 a.m. on April 25, the Turkish Red Crescent will serve visitors wheat soup and bread, which was the humble menu of the 57th Infantry Regiment when the Allied invasion started a hundred years ago.
The Anıtkabir military unit will also present films on the war from its archives which have never been seen publicly.
The ceremony will end after a wreath is placed on the mausoleum at dawn, as soldiers stand guard in the uniforms of their forefathers in Gallipoli.