TRADITIONAL DIVERSITY | Page 136

CELEBRATIONS IN GAZIANTEP

December 25th Liberation Day
The British entered Antep on 17 December 1918 . The French reacted to this occupation that lasted for a year , and when the British gave up the " Right of Supervision " over Mosul in September 1918 , first Syria , then Antep , Urfa and Maraş were evacuated . After that , the French occupied Kilis on 29 October 1919 and Antep on 5 November 1919 . At the beginning of 1920 , the famous Antep Defense started . The defense of Gaziantep , which started on April 1 , 1920 , lasted 11 months and ended due to hunger . During the defense , the French fired 70,000 bullets to the city , and 6.317 people from Antep were martyred . This extraordinary defensive end Turkey Grand National Assembly on February 6 , 1921 meeting in Antep " Veterans " has been awarded the title . On 15 March 1921 , in London , the Turkish Foreign Minister and the French delegation Antep agreed to return Adana and its surroundings to the Turks . As a matter of fact , this treaty took its final shape with the Ankara Agreement and the last French soldier left Antep on 25 December 1921 . Every year , December 25 is celebrated as Antep ' s Liberation Day .
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