Ataturk Youth and Sports Day

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Anyone who follows my website knows I’m a Kadıköy girl. It was the first district where I lived in Istanbul, and other than a brief six month foray on the other side, Kadıköy has always been my home in Istanbul. So it was exciting to learn that Ataturk Youth and Sports Day, commemorated every May 19, actually originated in my neighbourhood.

Ataturk Youth and Sports Day has it’s origins in a gymnastics festival held at a sports ground known colloquially as Papazın Çayırı (The Field of the Priest) back in 1916 . It’s not certain whether the festival was held in April or May. What is known is that Selim Sirri Bey, a sports official and politician who helped establish the National Olympic Committee of Turkey, brought back a music score he’d obtained during his time in Sweden. He had lyrics written in Turkish, it was named Dağ Başını Duman Almış and sung by competitors at this first ever gymnastics festival.

The grounds were officially run by the Union Club and were home to the first football games in Istanbul. They came under the management of the Kadıköy Ittihad Sports Club after World War I and are now the site of the Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

According to writer and researcher Ismet Bozdağ, twenty years after the first festival, his best friend Şükrü Kaya, the then Minister for the Interior, was chatting with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his close friends.

It was 1936 and Atatürk was quizzing them on the relevance of the day. When he asked, “Do know what day it is?” none of them answered correctly. It was May 19, the anniversary of the day in 1919 when Atatürk landed in Samsun. Atatürk was meant to be overseeing the dismantling of the Ottoman Army as required by the Treaty of Sévres. Instead he started the Turkish Nationalist Movement that initiated the Turkish War of Independence and ultimately led to the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

May 19 was officially gazetted as the Festival of Youth and Sports in 1938. Dağ Başını Duman Almış was introduced as the Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı Marşı (March of the Festival of Youth and Sports) but is more commonly known as the Gençlik Marşı, meaning Youth Anthem. Now called the Ataturk Youth and Sports Day, on this day in villages, towns and cities throughout Turkey, young people march proudly through the streets, sing the national anthem, perform folk dances, recite poems and re-enact victorious battles and important moments in Turkish history.

Ataturk Youth and Sports Day is a public holiday in Turkey and when it falls close to a weekend, many people take a day off work and go on a minibreak. Planes and buses book out fast while the roads are crammed with cars. To make sure you don’t get caught, bookmark my handy guide to Turkish national public holidays.

Here are some helpful tips for planning your next trip to Istanbul or Turkey.

Want to discover more interesting history and explore out of the ordinary places when you visit Istanbul? Then my brand new guide book is for you! Istanbul 50 Unsung Places includes a comprehensive guide to public transport hubs and the various options (bus, train, tram, ferry etc) on both sides of the city, a section on mosque etiquette and other practical information about restaurants, money and toilets.

Each of the 50 entries of places to visit starts with their title in Turkish (useful when dealing with Istanbul residents outside the tourist areas), their full history and little-known facts about them, transport information, step-by-step directions and other handy tips. With Istanbul 50 Unsung Places visitors can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, smells and scenery of Istanbul to really be in the moment, because other than needing to screenshot a couple of walking routes in advance, no smart phone with WIFI is required.

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For FLIGHTS I like to use Kiwi.com.

Don’t pay extra for an E-VISA. Here’s my post on everything to know before you take off.

However E-SIM are the way to go to stay connected with a local phone number and mobile data on the go. Airalo is easy to use and affordable.

Even if I never claim on it, I always take out TRAVEL INSURANCE. I recommend Visitors Coverage.

I’m a big advocate of public transport, but know it’s not suitable for everyone all the time. When I need to be picked up from or get to Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gokcen Airport, I use one of these GetYourGuide website AIRPORT TRANSFERS.

ACCOMMODATION: When I want to find a place to stay I use Booking.com.

CITY TOURS & DAY TRIPS: Let me guide you around Kadikoy with my audio walking tour Stepping back through Chalcedon. Then read about what you’ve seen and experienced in my three essay collections and memoir about moving to Istanbul permanently. Browse the GetYourGuide website or Viator to find even more ways to experience Istanbul and Turkey with food tours, visits to the old city, evening Bosphorus cruises and more!

However you travel, stay safe and have fun! Iyi yolculuklar.