Uşak: The City Behind an Iconic Republic Photograph

A black-and-white photograph can tell you something about a city that its skyline cannot.

In Uşak’s case, it is the photograph known as “Cumhuriyeti Biz Böyle Kazandık”—roughly, “This Is How We Won the Republic.” Photographer Hüsnü Kazım Özler captured it in Uşak on 29 October 1933, during celebrations marking the Turkish Republic’s tenth anniversary. It became one of the country’s enduring images of republican memory.

For visitors discovering this city in inland western Türkiye, the photograph provides an introduction to a proud local identity. Uşak’s story brings together remembrance, enterprise and the determination to build something new.

The Photograph That Preserved a Shared Memory

The photograph is closely associated with the sacrifices behind the Republic. Its banner gives that connection a direct, memorable voice.

Yet its date matters: 1933 was a year of commemoration, after the War of Independence had ended. The photograph captured people celebrating and remembering the achievement of the Republic, rather than a moment on the battlefield.

That distinction gives the image its emotional strength. A national anniversary becomes a gathering of people, with faces and lives behind the words on the banner.

For a foreign visitor, knowing where the photograph was taken makes Uşak more than a name on a map. The city becomes connected to an image through which generations have understood sacrifice, solidarity and independence.

Nuri Şeker and the Ambition to Build a Factory

Uşak’s republican heritage also has an industrial side.

Nuri Şeker helped organise a local initiative to establish a sugar factory, bringing together investors and encouraging villagers to support the project. The factory’s foundation was laid on 6 November 1925, and it opened on 17 December 1926.

The dates place it firmly in the early Turkish Republic.

Uşak deserves recognition as one of the pioneers of Türkiye’s sugar industry. Its factory was founded alongside Alpullu as part of the country’s first generation of sugar factories. Alpullu began operating on 26 November 1926, a few weeks before Uşak, and produced the first domestic sugar of that industrial programme.

The human story is just as interesting as the chronology. Establishing the factory required persuasion, investment and cooperation. Farmers and local entrepreneurs helped turn an ambitious proposal into a working enterprise.

This is a useful way to understand Uşak’s pride: progress took people willing to organise it.

A City That Embraced Electric Light Early

Uşak also celebrates its early adoption of electricity. Local heritage accounts date the city’s use of electric power to 1909, during the late Ottoman period.

Claims that it was the very first city in Türkiye to use electricity require caution, because histories distinguish between generation, street lighting, household supply and other applications. The clearest wording is that Uşak was an early adopter of urban electric lighting.

For a traveller, the significance is easy to picture. Electric light changed how streets could be used after dark and became a visible part of the city’s modernisation.

Alongside the sugar factory, this history explains why Uşak presents itself as “İlkler Şehri”—the City of Firsts.

Seeing Uşak Through These Stories

These three subjects offer a rewarding starting point for understanding the city.

The photograph preserves public memory. The factory records local enterprise in the early Republic. Electric lighting reflects an earlier willingness to introduce new technology.

Together, they give Uşak a character that can be missed when a journey focuses only on famous monuments. Its heritage includes people who gathered, invested, worked and helped change everyday life.

Carry those stories into your visit, and the city’s pride becomes easier to understand.

Quick Historical Summary

Subject	Key information
Famous photograph	“Cumhuriyeti Biz Böyle Kazandık”
Photographer	Hüsnü Kazım Özler
Date and place	29 October 1933, Uşak
Occasion	The Republic’s tenth-anniversary celebrations
Sugar factory pioneer	Nuri Şeker
Uşak factory foundation	6 November 1925
Uşak factory opening	17 December 1926
Historical distinction	One of Türkiye’s first sugar factories; Alpullu began production earlier
Electricity heritage	Early urban electrification, locally dated to 1909
Local identity	“İlkler Şehri”—“City of Firsts”

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Author’s Note for Food & Shopping Travelers: When researching what is the best Turkish breakfast or compiling a personal travel bucket list of the famous local foods in Turkey to try and discover, visitors often limit their horizon to coastal destinations. However, if you truly want to experience authentic Anatolian gastronomy after exploring the industrial heritage of this city, heading to a traditional local establishment to sample the famous tescilli Uşak tarhana soup or traditional tahinli un helvası is an absolute necessity. Furthermore, when determining what to buy in Uşak as traditional Turkish souvenirs, looking beyond generic items and investing in a world-renowned, hand-woven Uşak carpet—historically prized in European royal palaces—or an authentic Eşme kilim remains the ultimate way to bring home a timeless piece of cultural heritage.