In celebration of the 104th anniversary of Kahramanmaraş's liberation from enemy occupation, a strategic city in modern Turkish history located in the southeast, a parade was organized on Monday.
Thousands of people gathered at the Feb. 12 Park as part of the program led by the city's Governorship and the metropolitan municipality, where the crowd marched with torches and sang patriotic songs all the way to the Necip Fazıl Kısakürek Cultural Center.
Some young individuals dressed in the traditional attire of Kahramanmaraş, known as "Maraş Abası," carried flags during the event, while citizens carried a 100-meter (330-foot) Turkish flag during the procession.
The event was attended by state officials and political party representatives. Following the march, citizens waved Turkish flags while accompanying a concert performed by the "Mehteran" Unit. The word "mehteran" is the plural form of "mehter," which refers to a traditional Ottoman military band.
On Jan. 21, 1920, a resistance began against the occupying forces following the occupation of Kahramanmaraş, like many other parts of Anatolia, as a result of the defeat in the Battle of Maraş during World War I, and within the framework of the Armistice of Mudros signed with the Ottoman Empire on Oct. 30, 1918, that concluded with the end of the occupation on Feb. 12, 1920. Since then, it has been marked as a day to commemorate the liberation of Kahramanmaraş all across Türkiye.
