Turkish students will celebrate the birthday of their republic Tuesday with celebration, food and speeches.

On Oct. 29, 1923, Turkey became its own Republic out of the ruins of the Ottoman empire. The Turkish Student Association is celebrating the 79th anniversary of that event 7 p.m. tonight at Cafe Northwest.

Ibrahim Turkmen, president of the Turkish Student Association, will speak about the Proclamation of the Turkish Republic.

“We will get together to talk about the importance of the day, and also discuss what’s going on in Turkey,” said Turkmen, sophomore in food science.

Turkey’s transformation to a secular, democratic state was very swift, said Feyzi Inanc, adviser to the Turkish Student Association and scientist for the center for nondestructive evaluation.

“I think one thing we can say for certain is that the people in Turkey are quite proud,” Inanc said. “It basically went from a collapsing empire to a much more modern state, a rapidly westernizing and democratic country in 80 years. It is a very rapid transfer compared to other countries throughout the ages.”

Oct. 29 is officially known as Republic Day in Turkey, and it is celebrated as a national holiday.

“The 29th of October basically has the same importance in Turkey as the 4th of July [in the United States],” Inanc said.

Dinner will be served at Cafe Northwest. The event is open to all students who want to celebrate the founding of the Turkish Republic.

Turkish people are very proud of their country, Inanc said.

“The people are quite happy that they have something they’ve created in such a short time,” Inanc said.