Aerial footage showed a sea of people converging on the bridge, formerly known as Bosporus Bridge, from both Istanbul’s European and Asian sides to commemorate anniversary of Turkey’s 15 July failed coup
On Saturday hundreds of thousands of Turks have been gathering on Istanbul’s Martyrs Bridge to commemorate the first anniversary of the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey, now officially recognized as Democracy and National Unity Day.
Aerial footage showed a sea of people converging on the bridge, formerly known as Bosporus Bridge, from both Istanbul’s European and Asian sides.
The official ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the July 15 failed coup attempt is set to begin at 21:00 p.m. local Istanbul time.
The names of all 249 martyrs who fell on the night of the failed coup attempt last year were recited at the site of the event.
People of all walks of life and of all ages are taking part in the commemoration event as Turks continue to flood the streets amid heavy security measures taken by the police.
After passing through security checkpoints, crowds continued on their way to the Martyrs Bridge, showing affection to security forces as they went.
President Erdoğan inspected perparations for the event from his plane earlier today as F16 jets flew by and saluted him and crowds below cheered.
Various events are held on the first anniversary of July 15 coup attempt across Turkey. Commemoration ceremonies are organized for 249 martyrs who lost their lives during the bloody coup attempt. People march for the July 15 martyrs, and thousands of citizens take to the squares for democracy watches.
The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
FETÖ is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
The terrorist group is also known for its network comprised of hundreds of schools around the world.
