Post by yenilira on Nov 7, 2011 1:57:36 GMT 1
…...is that forbidding, austere-looking character who is pictured staring sternly down at you from the walls of houses, shops, cafes, restaurants, hotels, schools, and offices in Turkey?
His portrait in Turkey is unmistakably; his metres-tall statue dominates the centre of Alanya.
He is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node/296
www.amazon.com/dp/B005QARAI4?tag=ataturkcom&camp=211493&creative=379989&linkCode=op1&creativeASIN=B005QARAI4&adid=1V6VCBY9P76C6G356153&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ataturk.org%2F
Mastermind of modern Turkey. Just one incidence extracted from his political life provides the novice with a different perspective of Turkey: already in 1934 all women were given the right to vote, even before countries like France (1944), Italy (1945), Belgium (1948) and Switzerland (1971).
To those who find these portraits somewhat exaggerated, perhaps slightly dictatorial, must surely realize that Ataturk was, without any argument, the most important man in Turkish history.
Atatürk (born in 1881, in Thessaloniki) was the one that lead the Turks to Independence and declared the Republic of Turkey on the 29th October 1923. He was elected as the first President of the Republic and began the radical transformation to modernise the country. As such he instigated mandatory schooling, adopted the western calendar and time model and the carrying of a family name. On March 3, 1924, the Caliphate was officially abolished and this was followed by the complete separation of the governmental and religious affairs.
Furthermore, he prohibited religious clothing such as the fez and the tschador and in 1926 amended the jurisdiction, ie. Islamic courts were closed and Islamic canon law was replaced with a secular civil code in accordance with the Swiss civil right system, in which modern inheritance law, marriage and equality between man and woman became formalised. As if this wasn’t adequate enough, he altered the language, distinctly Persian and Arabic influenced, to a more simplified Turkish language, based upon the Latin alphabet.
It must be quite evident: the man on all these portraits is the architect of today’s Turkey. As such, his prominence has almost reached religious status. When in 1999 American weekly Timemagazine launched a ‘man of the century’ campaign, excitement struck in Turkey. A media campaign was launched to ensure that Atatürk was the favourite, before Mandela, Einstein or Ghandi. It wasn’t an election, but rather a nomination and despite all the votes from Turkey, Atatürk- regardless of his significance – could not top the genius Albert Einstein.
However, in Turkey, Atatürk is revered and this is understandable. The name bestowing worldwide fame has been shaped by his career. Atatürk was born Mustafa Riza in 1881. Turkey then was not the Turkey as we know it today. They were the final decennia of the dwindling Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman I. The Ottoman Empire existed from the 14th through the 20th century and covered – at its height – a large proportion of Asia, East Europe and North Africa.
The Empire was Islamic and the sultan had absolute control.
emather.hubpages.com/hub/The-Decline-of-the-Ottoman-Empire
Atatürk began his career in the military cadet school, against the will of his religious mother though, who rather wanted him to become an Imam. At school the mathematics teacher, also by the name of Mustafa, gave him the nickname Kemal (‘the perfect’ – Mustafa was better in maths then his teacher). Soon the young man rose to the position of general. He played an important role during the First World War (qv) and prior to this, in 1908, as prominent member of the ‘Young Turks’ (young officers) he deposed Sultan Abdulhamid II, when the latter tried to impose too conservative reforms. These ‘Young Turks’ did not recognise the Islam, but rather the national entity as the uniting factor for the country.
But Atatürk’s greatest moment came when he and a section of the army revolted against both allied occupation (during the first world war Turkey had chosen sides with Germany and Austria-Hungary and subsequently lost) and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet VI Vahideddin. This – in hindsight - last – sultan had apparently indiscriminately accepted the consequences of defeat during WW I and ruled merely as a puppet of the allies.
This requires some explanation: At the start of WW I in 1914 the sultan chose sides with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Lieutenant-Colonel Mustafa Kemal with his 19th division was charged with the defence of the supply routes to Istanbul (then the capital city).
The allied forces were unsuccessful in breaching Kemal’s defences. As such, Mustafa Kemal became an instant military hero. However, as history tells us, the allied forces won the war, and brought the sultan to his knees and still conquered İstanbul. The sultan officially remained in charge of the country, although under ‘supervision’ of the allied forces. Mustafa Kemal stood at the banks of the Bosporus when the allied ships navigated into the capital of the once mighty Ottoman Empire. The story goes that as he watched the ships arriving he swore revenge and decided to liberate the Turks.
His ideas for an independent Turkey captured the nation and the Turks all across the country amassed the idea of unity ascribed by Mustafa Kemal. Especially when allied forces in response to Kemal’s increasing popularity tried to intensify their control over other regions of Turkey and with the endorsement of the Supreme Allied Command the Greek occupied Izmir on the 15th May 1919 (then Smyrna).
Despite numerous warnings of risk to his life, he departed on the ship the ‘Bandirma’ to Anatolia to lead the rebellion. On May the 19th 1919 he arrived in Samsum with his army which marked the beginning of the war of independence. He resigned from the army on July 8th 1919 and on April 21st 1920 he instigated the Grand National Assembly (Turkiye Buyuk Meclisi) and is elected chairman. The Grand National Assembly acted as the opposition shadow government to the serving government under the control of the allied forces.
In 1921 and 1922, Atatürk led his forces to victory against the Greeks. He defeated them and abolished the, for Turkey, humiliating Treaty of Sevres. On July 21st 1923, amongst others, Greece and Turkey signed the more palatable Treaty of Lausanne resulting in the determination of today’s borders of Turkey and obtaining international recognition of independence.
On October 29th 1923 Atatürk declared the Republic of Turkey. He was elected as the first President of the new Turkey and immediately introduced a number of radical social, political, religious and cultural reforms. These developments are called the Kemalite Revolution and the ‘teachings’ of Atatürk, the Kemalism.
Because as the president he had 15 years of unabated authority, some parties accused him of being a dictator. However, he himself said, ‘If I had desired such ambitions, I would have instantly established military dictatorship and governed the nation in such a manner. But what I had in mind was to provide relief to my people and initiate a modern state.’
When the ‘surname ruling’ was enforced in 1934, the Turkish parliament gave Mustafa Kemal the honourable name ‘Atatürk’, meaning ‘Father of the Turks’.
Atatürk led a simple private life. He married Latife Hanim on January 29th 1923, but the marriage ended in divorce on August 5th 1925. Atatürk never had any children, but adopted numerous sons and daughters throughout his life.
He died at 09.05 in the morning on November 10th 1938 in Ankara at the age of 57 suffering from livercirrhose (a disorder that devastates the liver, the only remedy being a liver transplant). Since 1953, Atatürk’s remains are kept in the mausoleum Anιtkabιr in Ankara.
www.hurriyetdailynews.com/g.php?p=2&g=71#gallerytop
All notes and coins of the Turkish Lira have portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from different points of his life since the 1930s (with the exception of some notes of the Second Emission, 1937-1942), and there is a myriad of structures, both man-made and physical, named or re-named after him:- the Atatürk Mausoleum in Ankara, the Atatürk Barajı (Atatürk Dam) on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in Southeastern Anatolia Region, the Atatürk Center in Azerbaijan, the Atatürk Orman Çiftliği (The Atatürk Forest Farm) also in Ankara, Atatürk Uluslararası Havaalanı – İstanbul (Atatürk International Airport – Istanbul), major streets in many towns and cities, Alanya's Atatürk Blv.for example, Kemal Atatürk Avenue in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Mustafá Kemal Atatürk street in the central and upscale Naco district of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Atatürk Bridge over the Golden Horn (Haliç), the Atatürk Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand (re ANZACs), the Atatürk Forest in Israel; and the Atatürk Square in Rome.
It is illegal to insult the Turkish nation, the national flag and the name and image of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and it also illegal to deface or destroy the currency.
All of which could earn you a spell in İstanbul at Abdullah Gül's pleasure.
In today’s Turkey, Atatürk enjoys an almost mythical status. Equally on the international stage he occupies a dominant historical position as one of the great leaders of all times. Atatürk was not only a sound, military strategist who led his country to independence. As a statesman he was also capable of motivating and inspiring an entire nation to drive modernisation which is taking other countries ages to accomplish. On the ruins of the Ottoman Empire he built a modern state and returned to the Turks their dignity.
Atatürk dreamt of, according to the many hundreds of pages of personal records kept throughout his life, a world without violence. On every occasion he therefore emphasized the importance of peace.
One of his most important declarations can be read at the foot of his statue at the roundabout in Alanya:
“ Ev, dünyada barış Barış.” ‘ Peace in the land, peace in the world’.
YL.
His portrait in Turkey is unmistakably; his metres-tall statue dominates the centre of Alanya.
He is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node/296
www.amazon.com/dp/B005QARAI4?tag=ataturkcom&camp=211493&creative=379989&linkCode=op1&creativeASIN=B005QARAI4&adid=1V6VCBY9P76C6G356153&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ataturk.org%2F
Mastermind of modern Turkey. Just one incidence extracted from his political life provides the novice with a different perspective of Turkey: already in 1934 all women were given the right to vote, even before countries like France (1944), Italy (1945), Belgium (1948) and Switzerland (1971).
To those who find these portraits somewhat exaggerated, perhaps slightly dictatorial, must surely realize that Ataturk was, without any argument, the most important man in Turkish history.
Atatürk (born in 1881, in Thessaloniki) was the one that lead the Turks to Independence and declared the Republic of Turkey on the 29th October 1923. He was elected as the first President of the Republic and began the radical transformation to modernise the country. As such he instigated mandatory schooling, adopted the western calendar and time model and the carrying of a family name. On March 3, 1924, the Caliphate was officially abolished and this was followed by the complete separation of the governmental and religious affairs.
Furthermore, he prohibited religious clothing such as the fez and the tschador and in 1926 amended the jurisdiction, ie. Islamic courts were closed and Islamic canon law was replaced with a secular civil code in accordance with the Swiss civil right system, in which modern inheritance law, marriage and equality between man and woman became formalised. As if this wasn’t adequate enough, he altered the language, distinctly Persian and Arabic influenced, to a more simplified Turkish language, based upon the Latin alphabet.
It must be quite evident: the man on all these portraits is the architect of today’s Turkey. As such, his prominence has almost reached religious status. When in 1999 American weekly Timemagazine launched a ‘man of the century’ campaign, excitement struck in Turkey. A media campaign was launched to ensure that Atatürk was the favourite, before Mandela, Einstein or Ghandi. It wasn’t an election, but rather a nomination and despite all the votes from Turkey, Atatürk- regardless of his significance – could not top the genius Albert Einstein.
However, in Turkey, Atatürk is revered and this is understandable. The name bestowing worldwide fame has been shaped by his career. Atatürk was born Mustafa Riza in 1881. Turkey then was not the Turkey as we know it today. They were the final decennia of the dwindling Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman I. The Ottoman Empire existed from the 14th through the 20th century and covered – at its height – a large proportion of Asia, East Europe and North Africa.
The Empire was Islamic and the sultan had absolute control.
emather.hubpages.com/hub/The-Decline-of-the-Ottoman-Empire
Atatürk began his career in the military cadet school, against the will of his religious mother though, who rather wanted him to become an Imam. At school the mathematics teacher, also by the name of Mustafa, gave him the nickname Kemal (‘the perfect’ – Mustafa was better in maths then his teacher). Soon the young man rose to the position of general. He played an important role during the First World War (qv) and prior to this, in 1908, as prominent member of the ‘Young Turks’ (young officers) he deposed Sultan Abdulhamid II, when the latter tried to impose too conservative reforms. These ‘Young Turks’ did not recognise the Islam, but rather the national entity as the uniting factor for the country.
But Atatürk’s greatest moment came when he and a section of the army revolted against both allied occupation (during the first world war Turkey had chosen sides with Germany and Austria-Hungary and subsequently lost) and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet VI Vahideddin. This – in hindsight - last – sultan had apparently indiscriminately accepted the consequences of defeat during WW I and ruled merely as a puppet of the allies.
This requires some explanation: At the start of WW I in 1914 the sultan chose sides with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Lieutenant-Colonel Mustafa Kemal with his 19th division was charged with the defence of the supply routes to Istanbul (then the capital city).
The allied forces were unsuccessful in breaching Kemal’s defences. As such, Mustafa Kemal became an instant military hero. However, as history tells us, the allied forces won the war, and brought the sultan to his knees and still conquered İstanbul. The sultan officially remained in charge of the country, although under ‘supervision’ of the allied forces. Mustafa Kemal stood at the banks of the Bosporus when the allied ships navigated into the capital of the once mighty Ottoman Empire. The story goes that as he watched the ships arriving he swore revenge and decided to liberate the Turks.
His ideas for an independent Turkey captured the nation and the Turks all across the country amassed the idea of unity ascribed by Mustafa Kemal. Especially when allied forces in response to Kemal’s increasing popularity tried to intensify their control over other regions of Turkey and with the endorsement of the Supreme Allied Command the Greek occupied Izmir on the 15th May 1919 (then Smyrna).
Despite numerous warnings of risk to his life, he departed on the ship the ‘Bandirma’ to Anatolia to lead the rebellion. On May the 19th 1919 he arrived in Samsum with his army which marked the beginning of the war of independence. He resigned from the army on July 8th 1919 and on April 21st 1920 he instigated the Grand National Assembly (Turkiye Buyuk Meclisi) and is elected chairman. The Grand National Assembly acted as the opposition shadow government to the serving government under the control of the allied forces.
In 1921 and 1922, Atatürk led his forces to victory against the Greeks. He defeated them and abolished the, for Turkey, humiliating Treaty of Sevres. On July 21st 1923, amongst others, Greece and Turkey signed the more palatable Treaty of Lausanne resulting in the determination of today’s borders of Turkey and obtaining international recognition of independence.
On October 29th 1923 Atatürk declared the Republic of Turkey. He was elected as the first President of the new Turkey and immediately introduced a number of radical social, political, religious and cultural reforms. These developments are called the Kemalite Revolution and the ‘teachings’ of Atatürk, the Kemalism.
Because as the president he had 15 years of unabated authority, some parties accused him of being a dictator. However, he himself said, ‘If I had desired such ambitions, I would have instantly established military dictatorship and governed the nation in such a manner. But what I had in mind was to provide relief to my people and initiate a modern state.’
When the ‘surname ruling’ was enforced in 1934, the Turkish parliament gave Mustafa Kemal the honourable name ‘Atatürk’, meaning ‘Father of the Turks’.
Atatürk led a simple private life. He married Latife Hanim on January 29th 1923, but the marriage ended in divorce on August 5th 1925. Atatürk never had any children, but adopted numerous sons and daughters throughout his life.
He died at 09.05 in the morning on November 10th 1938 in Ankara at the age of 57 suffering from livercirrhose (a disorder that devastates the liver, the only remedy being a liver transplant). Since 1953, Atatürk’s remains are kept in the mausoleum Anιtkabιr in Ankara.
www.hurriyetdailynews.com/g.php?p=2&g=71#gallerytop
All notes and coins of the Turkish Lira have portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from different points of his life since the 1930s (with the exception of some notes of the Second Emission, 1937-1942), and there is a myriad of structures, both man-made and physical, named or re-named after him:- the Atatürk Mausoleum in Ankara, the Atatürk Barajı (Atatürk Dam) on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in Southeastern Anatolia Region, the Atatürk Center in Azerbaijan, the Atatürk Orman Çiftliği (The Atatürk Forest Farm) also in Ankara, Atatürk Uluslararası Havaalanı – İstanbul (Atatürk International Airport – Istanbul), major streets in many towns and cities, Alanya's Atatürk Blv.for example, Kemal Atatürk Avenue in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Mustafá Kemal Atatürk street in the central and upscale Naco district of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Atatürk Bridge over the Golden Horn (Haliç), the Atatürk Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand (re ANZACs), the Atatürk Forest in Israel; and the Atatürk Square in Rome.
It is illegal to insult the Turkish nation, the national flag and the name and image of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and it also illegal to deface or destroy the currency.
All of which could earn you a spell in İstanbul at Abdullah Gül's pleasure.
In today’s Turkey, Atatürk enjoys an almost mythical status. Equally on the international stage he occupies a dominant historical position as one of the great leaders of all times. Atatürk was not only a sound, military strategist who led his country to independence. As a statesman he was also capable of motivating and inspiring an entire nation to drive modernisation which is taking other countries ages to accomplish. On the ruins of the Ottoman Empire he built a modern state and returned to the Turks their dignity.
Atatürk dreamt of, according to the many hundreds of pages of personal records kept throughout his life, a world without violence. On every occasion he therefore emphasized the importance of peace.
One of his most important declarations can be read at the foot of his statue at the roundabout in Alanya:
“ Ev, dünyada barış Barış.” ‘ Peace in the land, peace in the world’.
YL.