. KARS, TÜRKİYE - JAN. 4, 2026: Participants on Sunday (Jan. 4) gathered at the assembly point for the march to be held as part of the 111th anniversary commemorative events of the Sarikamis Campaign in the Sarikamis district of Kars.

Many young and old people from various provinces and abroad gathered at the Kizilcubuk Peak between Soganli and Allahuekber Mountains in the early hours of the morning to participate in the commemoration event.

Participants, who travelled to the summit by bus from the city center and the district of Sarikamis, arrived at the gathering area walking with Turkish flags.

Citizens took photographs in front of snow sculptures made in memory of the martyrs in the Kizilcubuk region.

Despite temperatures reaching minus 17 degrees Celsius, a large number of people attended the martyrs' commemoration programme organised as part of the 111th anniversary of the Sarikamis Operation, launched by the Ottoman army under the command of Enver Pasha to liberate the territories under Russian occupation during the First World War.

Turkish Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak, Kars Governor Ziya Polat, AK Party Kars Deputy Adem Çalkın, Sarikamis District Governor Enis Aslantatar, former Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ahmet Arslan, and numerous politicians and bureaucrats gathered at the assembly area.

Gendarmerie and police teams took intensive security measures at the routes. Meanwhile, Red Crescent teams set up tents at the assembly area and served tea and soup to the participants.