The 41st Traditional New York Turkish Day March, organised in New York under the coordination of the Presidential Communications Directorate, was held with great enthusiasm and participation.
The march, which was first organised in 1981 by the Federation of Turkish American Associations in response to the martyrdom of Turkish diplomats in the USA by the Armenian terrorist organisation ASALA, and which became traditional afterwards, was attended by Sedat Önal, Ambassador of Turkey to Washington; Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations (UN); Mehmet Dânâ, Representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in New York; Nihat Zeybekci, AK Party Deputy Chairman; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çağatay Özdemir, Turkey's Consul General in New York Reyhan Özgür and many Turkish NGO leaders and members attended the event.
In the event, which was heavily attended by the Turkish-American community as well as the TRNC, Azerbaijan and the Turkish world, people from New York and the surrounding states lined the sidewalks of Madison Avenue to watch the parade, while fan associations, Turkish cultural organisations and students from Turkish-language schools participated in the march and greeted the protocol under the organisation of the Federation of Turkish American Associations (TADF).
The march, which started from 38th Street, Madison, continued with the celebrations at the concert area set up in Madison Square Park on 25th Street, while the guests experienced enthusiastic hours with the performances of Turkish artists and folklore teams.
The guests, who experienced enthusiastic moments with the performance of the Fire of Anatolia folk dance group, founded by Artistic Director Mustafa Erdoğan, also had the chance to taste various flavours of Turkish cuisine.
In addition, the event was accompanied by Turkish police officers serving in the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the NYPD band.