July 15 Memorial Museum recalls bloody coup attempt in 2016

On the third anniversary of the 2016 failed coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), a museum honoring the sacrifices paid to uphold democracy in Turkey was opened in the heart of Istanbul. Drawing great attention among the Turkish people, with the ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday, the July 15 Memorial Museum puts on display the crimes committed by FETO on that dreadful night. 'Do Not Forget', said a sign above the entrance of the two-story monument, near a list of martyrs and a huge screen showing a documentary retelling the failed coup. Visitors are met by another sign: 'What you see is your stories'. Various articles belonging to coup plotters, veterans and martyrs are on display in the museum, invoking memories of the events that occurred that night. Touch-screens allow visitors to browse the striking images and biographies of the martyrs, as well as the history of colonialism and coup d'etat in different parts of the world and show 3D videos of the coup at the 'Hall of Consciousness of Martyrdom'. Materials in the museum describe how a coup against the people's will risks causing economic crisis, political disability, social depression and foreign dependency in a country. One portion of the museum depicted Turkey's nine previous coups or attempted coups from 1960 to 2016, coinciding with 531 such incidents across the globe. It also honored historic figures who stood against colonization such as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Abdul Hamid II, Alija Izetbegovic, Mahatma Gandi and Simon Bolivar. Sezgin Saatçi, who came to the museum with his family, said the museum depicted the coup with much more detail than that heard on TV. 'It really brings memories of that horrible night, the night of treacherous,' he said. Musa Sipsivri, another visitor, said the plotters, would never bring Turkey to its knees, divide its people or pull down its flag. The 13-year-old Yusuf Taha Asker said the museum was a place everyone should visit and expressed his pride to be a citizen of Turkish Republic.