Turkey remembers

Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Turkish Republic, died on 10th November 1938 at 9.05am.  No, I haven’t been studying for a citizenship exam or researching for a book about him; it is impossible to live here and not know these things as every year on this day he is remembered all over the country, firstly by a siren which blasts for two minutes starting at 9.05 – and stops even the traffic on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in İstanbul, then by all manner of ceremonies and performances.  This year, for example, a few thousand people queued in İzmir hoping to be selected as one of the 2,400 people who would create a ‘living portrait’ of Atatürk. 

The strength of feeling, both pride in his achievements and sorrow at his untimely death (at the age of just 57), is amazing with even young children proclaiming their love for him.  It used to seem strange to me the extent to which he is remembered so long after his death;  that was before I knew very much about him.

Actually the strange thing is how he has been ‘forgotten’ in other countries.  Here are some of the things said about him:

‘The name of Atatürk reminds mankind of the historical accomplishments of one of the greatest men of this century’              JOHN F KENNEDY 1963

‘During a conversation with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Soviet Union, Litvinov, I asked him who was, according to him, the most valuable and remarkable statesman of Europe. He replied that, the most valuable and interesting leader in the world was the President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.’

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT 1928

‘The death of Atatürk, who saved Turkey during the war and revived the Turkish nation, is not only a loss for his country, but it is also a great loss for Europe .’

                                                                       WINSTON CHURCHILL 1938

To put it simply, without Atatürk there would be no modern Turkey.  As the Ottoman Empire declined, the weak leadership sided with the Germans in the first World War.  After their defeat, the Turkish people were desperate and demoralised and the Allies were ready to take control of the area.  Atatürk, who after distinguishing himself as a military leader had resigned from the army in disgust at the direction the leaders were taking – escaped from British- occupied İstanbul to Samsun (on the Black Sea), from where he began his campaign to rally the masses to fight for their lands.

After victory and the formation of the Turkish Republic, he became its first President.  The vast range of political and social reforms he implemented include creating a secular state where religion and politics were quite separate, giving women equal rights (in the mid 1930s 18 women were elected to parliament) and changing the alphabet (from Arabic to Latin).  Here are a few more facts about him:

·         He led the 9th division to victory over the Allied Forces at Gallipoli in 1915

·         He adopted a number of children (though he was married for a short time he had no biological children) including Sabiha Gökçen who became the world’s first female fighter pilot

·         He was fair-haired and blue-eyed and was a very stylish dresser

Atatürk was by all accounts a charismatic and visionary leader.  Too bad there haven’t been many more of them in Turkey since then!  But  I still wonder why he didn’t get a mention during my 16 years of education in Britain.  Oh well…here’s the new statue of him in Fethiye (in the ceremonial square in front of the cultural centre).