Turks mark 563rd anniversary of conquest of Constantinople

Around one million of Turks on Sunday celebrated the 563rd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, then called Constantinople, with a grandiose ceremony.

The ceremony was held on a giant 3D mapping stage built in the form of a castle in Istanbul's seaside Yenikapi venue.

A 3D-film presentation enacted the conquest of the city, enriched with life-size ship models and a theatrical show employing over 500 actors.

A 563-member janissary band, and Turkish Stars, the aerobatics team of the Turkish Air Force, presented their shows on the occasion.

On May 29, 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II and his troops conquered Constantinople following a siege of 54 days, bringing an end to the Byzantine Empire's rule for more than 1,000 years.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and newly-appointed Prime Minister Binali Yildirim attended the celebrations.

"Turkey, with the investments and new projects achieved during the last 13 years, has been transformed into a self-sufficient country," Erdogan said in his speech.

Highlighting Turkey's zero debt to the International Monetary Fund, he said that "We will make the country one of the ten largest economies in the world" as of 2023, when the republic marks its centennial celebrations.

The president once again stressed the need of changing the constitution in a way that enables the transformation of the current parliamentary system into a presidential one.

Some 9,000 police officers were mobilized for the celebrations, backed up by five helicopters, a submarine, a frigate and three coastguard boats, the state-owned Anatolian news agency reported. Endit