The Consulate General of the Republic of Turkey in Plovdiv and the "State Archive"-Plovdiv Department invite Plovdiv residents and guests to the opening of the documentary exhibition "The Days of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Sofia (October 27, 1913 - February 2, 1915)" and the concert "Favorite Songs of Atatürk".

The event is on November 10, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Municipal Council - Plovdiv at 20 Avksentiy Veleshki Street, with the participation of Alper Yunlütürk - baritone and Batuhan Luşoglu - piano.

The exhibition, the result of the joint work of the state archives of Turkey and Bulgaria and with the assistance of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in our country, presents the short but full of meetings and impressions period from October 27, 1913 to February 2, 1915, when Atatürk was military attaché in Sofia.

He arrived in Bulgaria years before he headed the parliament of the new Republic of Turkey in 1920, and months after his country entered World War I, now a lieutenant colonel, he was ordered back to Istanbul.

The exhibition includes documents on Atatürk's appointment as a military attache and commander of one of the divisions in the Turkish army, his military biography, reports to the Ottoman General Staff, etc., some of which are being presented to the public for the first time.

The exhibition was shown in Sofia, Pleven and Shumen. The event is part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.

It is no coincidence that the great statesman was nominated in 1934 by the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos for the Nobel Peace Prize - for his outstanding merits in preserving peace in the Balkans and the Middle East. Few Bulgarians know that until the end of his life Atatürk remained a faithful friend of Bulgaria.