November 10, 2022, marked the 84th anniversary of the death of Turkey’s beloved Atatürk. Bilkent University commemorated the solemn occasion over the course of two days with several events.
On the morning of Thursday, November 10, members of the Bilkent community gathered at Bilkent’s Atatürk Monument to observe a moment of silence.
A ceremony took place at Mithat Çoruh Auditorium afterwards. It began with a moment of silence and the national anthem, followed by a mini-concert performed by the Bilkent Youth Quartet. Next, students Muhammed Berk Alemdar (EE), Öykü Özbirinci (EE), Mehmet Rıfat Özkurt (EE), Şimal Songur (LAW) and Beril Sülü (ME) presented their HIST200 project, “The Program for Sending Students Abroad in the Field of Educational Sciences in the Early Republican Period: The Experiences of Şükran Oğuzkan.”
Following this, Prof. Bülent Çaplı, acting dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, gave a presentation titled “A White Boat: Atatürk’s Mobile Exhibition Project Introducing the Young Republic to the World.”
During his presentation Prof. Çaplı showed an excerpt from the documentary “Black Sea – Seyr-i Türkiye.” The documentary tells the story of the traveling exhibition project that was realized at the suggestion of Atatürk three years after the proclamation of the Republic to introduce our country to Europe. The Seyr-i Türkiye documentary brings to light the journey of the Black Sea ship from Karaköy to Leningrad, which was commissioned to promote the new identity of Turkish society in the process of modernization.
On November 12, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Romain Dumas, with Simon Ghraichy on piano, presented a concert in memory of Atatürk. The performance, which took place at the Bilkent Concert Hall, included pieces by E. Grieg, M. Cetiz and S. Barber.
