"Memory and Souvenir: July 15 Photography Exhibition" prepared by the Presidential Directorate of Communications and the July 15 Association was opened at Esenboğa Airport.
The exhibition, prepared to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the July 15 epic within the scope of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, includes photographs taken on the day and after the coup attempt from Kızılay Square, Ankara Police Department, Gendarmerie General Command, General Staff, Turkish Grand National Assembly, Presidential Complex and different points.
The exhibition, prepared with the theme "Our Will, Our Victory", aims to convey what happened on the night of July 15, the sacrifices made by the nation and the struggle for democracy to future generations through photographs.
The exhibition will host its visitors today at Esenboğa, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, Izmir Adnan Menderes, Antalya and Gaziantep airports.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Presidency Directorate of Communications Digital Media Coordinator Aslan Değirmenci said that the purpose of the exhibition is to keep memories alive, as well as to show the resistance to local and foreign guests coming to the airports.
Emphasizing that July 15 was a homeland defense, Değirmenci said, "It is a glorious victory of those who did not drop the standard. That day, our heroes stood in front of those who tried to write history with their bare hands and bloody hands and wrote a new history. Our duty today is to protect that history." he said.
"Each photograph in the exhibition is a silent but powerful witness of that spirit."
Vice President of the July 15 Association, Akın Bayram, stated that they did not just open a photography exhibition today, but that they were together to keep the memory of a nation alive, to remember an epic again and to entrust it to future generations.
Reminding that millions of people came to the squares on the night of the coup upon the call of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bayram continued his words as follows:
"Everyone, women, men, young people, old people, soldiers, police, security guards, fought shoulder to shoulder, but did not give way to the traitors. That night, some protected this country with their flag in their hands, some with their prayers, some with their lives. Because the issue was the homeland, because the issue was Turkey. Each photograph in this exhibition is a silent but powerful witness of that spirit. Each frame reminds us of a truth. This truth is the greatest power of being a nation, being able to stand shoulder to shoulder in difficult times."
Adnan Odabaşı, a July 15 veteran, also stated that the coup attempt was thwarted after the people listened to President Erdoğan's call and said, "Some lives were hurt here, some people became martyrs, some became veterans, but all the citizens of our country were in the squares. It does not matter whether anything hit them, all of our people became veterans that day." he said.
TAV Ankara General Manager Nuray Demirer, Pursaklar District Governor Üzeyir Aziz Özeren, association representatives and citizens attended the opening of the exhibition, which will be open throughout the week.