Today in History – 16 June

Sabiha Gökçen tours the Balkan region

Turkey’s first female fighter pilot and Atatürk’s adopted daughter Sabiha Gökçen embarked upon a solo tour of the capitals of four Balkan countries with her plane between June 16 and 21, 1938.

Sabiha Gökçen’s tour of the Balkan capitals began on June 16, 1938 and the three-day program was successfully completed. The day of her departure, Gökçen was greeted with a ceremony in Athens. Athens daily Proia announced the visit as follows:

One of the most evident signs of the great reforms executed by the creative genius that changed Turkey’s destiny manifests itself in the courage a young female pilot. It seems as though many centuries have elapsed since the Turkish women, who are present in all domains of national activity, have obtained equal rights.

Reaching Sofia on June 17th, Belgrade on June 18th, and Bucharest on June 19th, Sabiha Gökçen was welcomed with official ceremonies at every city and made headlines. While drawing attention to the developments in aviation during the republic era of Turkey, newspapers lauded Sabiha Gökçen as the “symbol of Turkish women.”