May 19, 2006: Military school students form a living monument to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, during the Youth and Sport Festival celebrations at Inönü Stadium in downtown Istanbul. Every May 19, dignitaries, politicians, and military leaders celebrate Atatürk’s arrival at Samsun—the event that began Turkey’s “war of independence” from the Ottoman Empire. The country’s official independence day is October 29, however, marking the founding of the Turkish Republic.