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The country will mark the 102nd anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Türkiye on Oct. 29. An official holiday, Republic Day holds special meaning for those who witnessed its early years. Among them are 88-year-old Emine Nuran Özlük, one of the first policewomen of the Ankara Police, and 93-year-old Tahsin Kızılırmak, a retired teacher.
Now spending their days at a caring home in the Turkish capital, Özlük and Kızılırmak recounted to Anadolu Agency (AA) how Republic Day was celebrated in the fledgling republic that succeeded the Ottoman Empire.
Özlük said Republic Day has been a big occasion for them, especially in her hometown, Erzurum, where she would “distribute badges to people” to be worn on the day. She said she was also active in theater plays at her high school on Republic Day, including one she staged with fellow students at Ankara’s Ethnography Museum. She recounts that dignitaries among her audience included Parliament Speaker Refik Koraltan and lawmaker and former Education Minister Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver.
As a policewoman, she worked at every department of the Security Directorate in the Turkish capital, including as a security detail for former Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel. “The republic has a special meaning for me. It is the perfect way of administration. I am pleased to belong to this generation witnessing that era. The republic is a legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the youth should adhere to this legacy,” she says.
Tahsin Kızılırmak recalls the years they marked Republic Day at school, where they recited poems and made speeches. “We used to collect green leaves as decoration for our school, and they would be placed next to flags. We used to cut out colored papers and write messages about the republic on them and paste them on the blackboard,” he said. This same joy is reflected in his later years when he was appointed as a teacher. “Republic Day was very important to me. I used to give homework to students to memorize poems about it, one month in advance. I remember a school with students who never recited poems at Republic Day or any time in their lives. Some six children memorized poems. We also used to decorate our school one day before the celebrations. People were very enthusiastic about it,” he recalled one Republic Day.
