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The memory of Omer Halisdemir, the senior noncommissioned officer who shot coup-plotting general Semih Terzi during FETO's July 15 coup attempt and became one of the key figures associated with the night, is being preserved at a culture center in his hometown in Nigde.
The Sehit Omer Halisdemir Culture Center, opened about eight years ago in Cukurkuyu, a town in Nigde's Bor district, brings together personal items, photographs, and documents linked to Halisdemir's life and military service.
The center displays Halisdemir's childhood and youth photographs, his military identity tag, the knife and water canteen he used on duty, as well as his beret and clothes.
Visitors can also see photographs from the night of the coup attempt, newspaper headlines from that period and a section listing the names of those killed on July 15. The center draws visitors from both inside and outside the city, helping keep Halisdemir's actions in public memory.
Mahmut Unal, Halisdemir's primary school friend, said Halisdemir was loved in the town and had wanted to become a soldier from an early age.
Unal recalled that they grew up together in a place with limited social life, spending time herding sheep because their fathers were shepherds. He said they would go to a water well in the Tekmezar area, draw water and watch over the sheep there.
According to Unal, Halisdemir later became a specialist sergeant when he was around 18 or 19, fulfilling a childhood ambition through determination.
"Since there was not much social life here, we had a lot of free time. Omer and I used to herd sheep. Our fathers were shepherds. There is a water well in the Tekmezar area, and the sheep would come there in the morning. Omer and I would go there and give them water. We would draw water from the well and wait with the sheep. We often visited each other's homes. Our fathers were relatives, and Omer and I were childhood friends. Omer became a specialist sergeant at the age of 18 or 19. Later, whenever he came and went, we started seeing each other again. As a child, he really wanted to be a soldier. He was patriotic and very nationalist. He was determined and honest; that is how we knew Omer," Unal said.
Unal said Halisdemir's decision to shoot the coup-plotting general on July 15 gave him an important place in the nation's memory.
He said he was proud that his childhood friend had given his life for his country, adding that he sometimes visits the culture center to look back on old days and remember Halisdemir's childhood and youth.
Visitor Ismail Caglak, who came from Konya to visit Halisdemir's grave and the culture center, said the Turkish people went out into the streets that night to stand up for their country.
Caglak said visitors become emotional when they see Halisdemir's belongings and clothes, adding that the display creates a strong feeling of remembrance.
Another visitor, Bilal Celik, said the photographs and personal items inside the center remind visitors of the night of July 15 and leave them deeply moved.
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