A joint edition of five newspapers that announced Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s second visit to Samsun under the same headline is attracting considerable attention in an exhibition held in Samsun, the fourth stop of this year’s Türkiye Culture Route Festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
As part of the festival, the exhibition titled “Atatürk’s Samsun” was opened at the Samsun Museum, featuring archive materials from the General Directorate of Libraries and Publications.
The exhibition includes photographs of Atatürk’s visits to Samsun as well as newspapers and magazines published during those periods. Among the 120 works on display is a joint edition of five newspapers that reported Atatürk’s second visit to Samsun in 1924 under the same headline.
The scientific advisor of the exhibition, Dr. Ercan Yalçın, Lecturer at the Department of Atatürk’s Principles and History of the Turkish Revolution at Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), stated that the exhibition was created in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Dr. Yalçın noted that the exhibition aims to depict Atatürk’s four visits to Samsun, saying:
“Our visitors gain the opportunity to understand the early Republican period better. We’ve tried to reflect what Samsun meant to Atatürk and what Atatürk meant to the people of Samsun. We built the storyline based on Atatürk’s travels to Samsun.”
Reminding that Mustafa Kemal Pasha first arrived in Samsun on May 19, 1919, Yalçın said:
“He stepped onto Samsun from the Bandırma Ferry at the Tobacco Pier, marking the beginning of the National Struggle. Therefore, Samsun is a city of immense significance in the history of Türkiye, especially for our independence. It holds a very special place in Atatürk’s life.”
Yalçın continued by explaining that Atatürk made his second visit to Samsun on September 20, 1924:
“He came to Samsun in September. The people of Samsun were excited, and Mustafa Kemal Pasha was equally excited because Samsun reminded him of the National Struggle, taking him back five years. The local press in Samsun did something extraordinary. Five local newspapers—Ahali, Piyasa, Haber, Güneş, and Hilal—published a joint edition to express their unity in welcoming Gazi Pasha. The same edition carried all the newspaper names and a shared headline. That headline read: ‘O light of victory, great Gazi! Today, the land you tread trembles with the inspiration it once reflected upon you five years ago.’
Through this, we gain the opportunity to witness the unified welcome extended to Gazi Pasha by the people of Samsun as reflected in the press.”
LISTEN