The President video called the TCG-Gemlik frigate, currently on duty on the Indian Ocean, before talking with a soldier-and fellow townsman- in the Akçakale border station in southeastern Şanlıurfa province.
Turkey also witnessed another first in the commemoration ceremony. In the presidential palace, the Holy Qur'an was recited for the Turkish soldiers recently slain by the PKK terrorist organization.
The reception was held for the commemoration of August 30 Victory Day, marking the 93rd anniversary of the decisive 1922 battle between the invading Greek army and Nationalist Turkish forces in the War of Independence.Due to recent terror attacks and losses of Turkish security forces, no celebrations took place throughout the country, but the president and public officials marked the day with modest ceremonies.Earlier in the day, Turkey's founding president and War of Independence leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's tomb, Anıtkabir, in Ankara was visited by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Parliament Speaker İsmet Yılmaz, along with the newly appointed members of the interim cabinet and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for the ceremony.A military parade was also held in Atatürk Cultural Center, in which Turkey's elite forces displayed their latest technology, including domestic military products.