July 15 made Turkish public holiday to mark coup bid

By Coskun Ergul

ANKARA (AA) - July 15 has been made a public holiday in Turkey to mark this year’s attempted coup, lawmakers agreed Tuesday.

Parliament passed a bill unanimously to mark the anniversary as Democracy and National Solidarity Day.

The failed coup resulted in the deaths of at least 241 people, including seven civilians who were shot dead as they resisted the coup forces near the Akinci air force base north of Ankara.

To mark their sacrifice, the district of Kazan, where the base is located, was officially renamed Kahramankazan by deputies. The prefix “Kahraman” means “hero” in Turkish.

In the immediate aftermath of the coup a number of structures and public spaces were renamed, most notably Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge, which was retitled the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge.