10th Year March

The 10th Year March is one of the national marches composed in 1933 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye. The lyrics were written by Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel and Behçet Kemal Çağlar, and the music was composed by Cemal Reşit Rey.

In 1933, celebrations were planned to mark the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic, and a ceremonial committee was established. Following a proposal submitted to the Grand National Assembly by Hakkı Tarık Bey, Deputy of Giresun, and four other members of parliament, it was decided that the tenth anniversary of the Republic would be celebrated over three days, during which an official holiday would be declared and special ceremonies held.

The committee also included on its agenda the preparation of a special march for this significant anniversary and requested several poets to compose verses highlighting the achievements of the Republic during its first decade and the magnitude of the Turkish Revolution. After evaluations, the lyrics by Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel and Behçet Kemal Çağlar, together with the composition by Cemal Reşit Rey, were selected as most suitable, and the march was officially adopted as the national march for the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Republic.

A nationwide campaign was launched to ensure the public learned and embraced the march. The lyrics were published daily in newspapers, memorization courses were organized in schools, and the march was frequently broadcast on radio. During the large Republic Day celebrations held at the Ankara Hippodrome, attended by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the orchestra and the public sang the march together.

Archival footage from the 1933 celebrations revealed that only the first section of the march was performed; no complete recordings of the full text survived. As part of the events marking the Republic’s 100th anniversary, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) recorded the complete version of the march. Under the direction of conductor Cemi’i Cem Deliorman, the orchestra reinterpreted the piece and completed it 90 years after its original composition.

The 10th Year March is one of the national marches composed in 1933 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye. The lyrics reflect the social, cultural, and economic developments of the Republic’s first decade, as well as Türkiye’s historical past, its struggle for independence, and its process of societal transformation. The march also references the Turkish nation’s existence since prehistoric times and the reforms undertaken by the Republican government to build an equal, classless, and unified society. Furthermore, it expresses Türkiye’s ambition to reach and surpass the level of modern civilization.

We emerged with our heads held high after every battle in ten years

In ten years we created fifteen million young people of every age

At the head, the world’s foremost commander

We wove the homeland’s borders with iron chains from all four corners

We are Turks: The Republic’s chest is our bronze shield

For a Turk, standing still is unfitting; a Turk leads, a Turk advances!

We drown evil and backwardness in a single rush

We rise like the sun above the darkness

We are Turks: we are the foremost among all heads

We existed before history, and we will exist after history

We are Turks: The Republic’s chest is our bronze shield

For a Turk, standing still is unfitting; a Turk leads, a Turk advances!

With our blood we traced the map of our homeland

We ended the long mourning of our country

We completed the struggle for independence from every angle

The whole world learned to count the Turks!

We are Turks: The Republic’s chest is our bronze shield

For a Turk, standing still is unfitting; a Turk leads, a Turk advances!

We have opened a new path for nations to follow

We are a mass without privileges or classes, fully integrated

We align in thought with knowledge, and in action with ideal

Even if the world turns backward, we will not turn from our path

We are Turks: The Republic’s chest is our bronze shield

For a Turk, standing still is unfitting; a Turk leads, a Turk advances!