The “Sarıkamış Martyrs Commemoration Event” organized by the National Values Club of Istanbul Medeniyet University was held on December 30, 2024, at Aşık Paşa Conference Hall of IMU South Campus, with the participation of university staff, students and families of martyrs, on the 110th anniversary of Sarıkamış Operation, one of the most painful and deeply scarring events in our history.
The program continued with a moment of silence and the National Anthem, followed by Dr. Rıdvan Kara's recitation of the Quran. Prayers were recited for the martyrs of Sarıkamış Operation, and our heroes were remembered with mercy and gratitude. Then, National Values Club President Recep Uğur Güney and IMU History Department Head Prof. Dr. Recep Karacakaya delivered speeches emphasizing the meaning and importance of the day. Karacakaya remembered the martyrs of Sarıkamış Operation with mercy, and touched on the preparation process of the Operation and the reservations of the commanders against the Operation due to the climatic conditions. He stated that most of the soldiers froze to death during the Operation without firing a single bullet.
The program emphasized that the Sarıkamış Operation was an epic engraved in our nation's memory, and that an unprecedented sacrifice was made for the nation's independence and freedom. The program ended with a poetry and folk song recital, following a theater and video show depicting the struggle of Sarıkamış soldiers against harsh natural conditions.