Martyrs' Day is a Syrian and Lebanese national holiday commemorating the Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

n and Lebanese

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 nationalists executed in Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 and Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

 on May 6, 1916 by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman wāli

Wali

Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...

. They were executed in both the Marjeh Square

Marjeh Square

Marjeh Square is a major square in downtown Damascus, Syria. The square was the central part of the city in the first half of the last century, before Damascus expanded further...

 in Damascus and Burj Square in Beirut. Both squares have since then been renamed to Martyrs' Square.

Nationalists executed in Damascus

• Abdelhamid al-Zahrawi
• Shafiq al-Muayyad
• Abdel Wahab al-Englizi
• Rushdi al-Shamaa
• Omar al-Jazairi
• Shukri al-Assali

Commemoration

Traditionally, on this day the presidents of both countries pay their respect by visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Damascus)

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial, dedicated to the Syrian soldiers killed during battle. It is visited every year by the President on Martyrs' Day ....

.