טקס הנחת זרים לזכר הטייסים הטורקיים, באנדרטת הטייסים הטורקיים (מולהאון) ב 20.9.2023

The wreath-laying Ceremony will take place on
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at the Türkiye Pilots Memorial
Prof. Avraham Shitzer' President Kinneret Academic College
Captain Yusuf Görkem ÖZER Turkish Defence Attaché to Israel 

in the presence of the

In 1914, the Ottoman Air Force marked its first anniversary since its establishment. To mark the occasion, the Sultan decided to hold a fly over above the cities of the empire.
Two aircrafts departed Istanbul with their goal set on reaching Alexandria with scheduled show stops in Jerusalem and Cairo and with refueling breaks in a number of additional locations.
The aircrafts landed and from there embarked towards Jerusalem.
The two pilots who flew the first airplane to leave Damascus towards Jerusalem were: Capt. Fethi Bey and Sgt. Sadik Bey, senior pilots in the Ottoman Empire Air Force, however, the experienced pilots were not familiar with the Sea of Galilee wind patterns and upon reaching the cliffs of the Golan Heights, near the Sea of ​​Galilee, a fierce easterly wind battered the aircraft, ultimately leading to its tragic decent near the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee. The Governor of Tiberias crossed the Sea of ​​Galilee by boat and found the remnants of the aircraft and the remains of the fallen pilots. The Governor arranged transportation to the Semakh Railway Station and from there, by special train, to a state burial in Damascus near the tomb of Saladin.
After the state funeral in Damascus, the Ottoman Army Minister, Enver Pasha, commanded the construction of a memorial, at the site of the crash, in memory of the pilots.