The Turkish city of Kahramanmaras did not hold its annual celebration on February 12 to mark the anniversary of the defeat of French occupiers in 1920. The commemoration has been held every year since the establishment of the modern Turkish state.
The name of the city is a combination of “Kahraman”, Turkish word meaning “hero”, and “Maras”, which was its original name up until 1973. The name was changed to mark the victory against the French.
