The 572nd anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul was commemorated on 29 May with a special program organized by the Department of Library and Documentation at Marmara University’s Göztepe Campus. The event featured a variety of cultural and academic activities, including a concert, poetry recital, panel discussion, and an exhibition.

The program commenced with a concert titled “Ballads of Heroism”, performed by the Marmara University Turkish Music Ensemble under the direction of Prof. Dr. Mustafa Uslu, Head of the Department of Fine Arts Education at the Atatürk Faculty of Education. Following the concert, Marmara University Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt recited the poem “İstemem” ("I Do Not Desire"), written by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror under his pen name, Avnî.

The commemoration continued with a panel discussion titled “The Conquest of Istanbul from Multiple Perspectives”, moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siren Çelik from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. During the panel, Dr. Önder Bayır, Head of the Department of Library and Documentation, presented on “The Personality of Sultan Mehmed and the Conquest of Istanbul”, while Hakan Yılmaz, Head of the Rare Books Unit, gave a talk entitled “Ulubatlı Hasan and the Debated Aspects of the Conquest.”

As part of the event, an exhibition titled “Traces of Ulubatlı Hasan” was also opened in memory of Ulubatlı Hasan, one of the iconic figures of the conquest. The exhibition will be open to visitors for a limited time at the Marmara University Orhan Oğuz Library.