Turkey Events and Festivals

8/30/2007 - 8/30/2007Victory Day (Zafer Bayram)

Victory Day is a national holiday that is recognised on 30 August and is celebrated throughout the country. Its origins date back to a battle that began on 26 August 1922 when Greek troops invaded Turkey. The invasion was successfully repelled and the battle ended just four days later on 30 August. Although the day has now lost much of its military significance for the younger generations, it is still a day of national pride on which the country's armed forces lay wreaths at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Istanbul, acknowledging the role Mustafa Kemal Ataturk played in founding the country