I have a number of subjects in mind for posts in the coming days. However, I would like to try and tackle first a bit of the man known as Ataturk. Travelers to Istanbul will first encounter this legendary human on their tickets from wherever to Ataturk Airport. Images of him are reminiscent of other foundational leaders from the 20th century like Vladimir Ilyiç Ulyanov; a man of simple blood who rose to meet the challenges of his day in a fearless, ruthless manner. The drive of men like these is a point of fascination for me. By the end of the battle for the Gallipoli Peninsula there was a Davidic Hero walking amonst the Ottoman ranks. Our tour guide gave the synopsis just so: “Right place, Chanuk Bair (where the Ottoman’s stopped the Allied advance), right time, 1915, right man, Mustafa Kemal.”
One of the quotes our tour guide took from history was of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk saying “I am not ordering you to fight, I am ordering you to die. Let us die so that other men can come and take our place in the battle.” Mustafa Kemal lead the counterattack for 9 months. Eventually the Allies withdrew. Ataturk is considered in Turkey like Andrew Jackson or George Washington are in the United States. A military man who helped secure the freedom of his people through intelligent, thoughtful, relentless and honorable sacrifice and fervor.
Eventually the Ottoman Empire was defeated along with Germany, Bulgaria, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its lands were occupied by foreign forces. In the next years Mustafa Kemal lead a military effort to bring the rule of modern day Turkey to its own people. He became the first president of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and office he held until his death in 1938. Even today heroes are being born around the world; women and men we will not know by name for many years. Our world has a dynamism we cannot comprehend, one more example of the vast creator and His infinite genius.
albaniacalling 