A Tourist snapshot of Ataturk’s Turkey

Just back from a cheap “last minute” package holiday near Kusadasi, Turkey. I’ve never been to Turkey before, always meant to, but like many people, had been put off in the past by military coups, terrorism, Cyprus and Kurdistan etc.

The Mrs and I were just looking forward to escape the UK winter for a week with some sun and sightseeing. By coincidence on Wednesday, it was a National Turkish Holiday. “Cumhuriyet Bayrami , the day commemorates the proclamation of the Republic by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.

In the run up to the day, practically everywhere you went you would see national flags with pictures of Ataturk. The hotels all had huge red Turkish flags hanging down from their fronts. All cafes, shops and restaurants would have his picture or poster fixed somewhere, usually you would look up and he would be glaring down at you from various directions.

On Monday we went into Kusadasi and walked up the hill to the huge statute of Ataturk that overlooks the harbour (see pictures). Many Turkish towns have similar such statues. The walk up went through some very poor areas but we were cheerfully greeted by families and young children without any of the hassle you find in the main shopping and tourist areas. A lesson somewhere no doubt? The view from the top was well worth the effort but the site itself was strangely neglected, vandalised and definitely unkempt.

On the Wednesday itself we went to Selcuk by Dolmas (local shared transport) which despite its proximity to popular tourist attractions is a really nice Turkish market town, no “English breakfasts” on offer. As we went into the town there was a parade of local children with bands and swirling Turkish flags. We followed them to a local school where the headmaster (or local Mayor?) gave a stirring speech which the children seemed to enjoy by regular cheering and clapping. They then wandered off so I assume the rest of the day was a holiday which might have contributed to a celebratory spirit.

There were huge banners of Ataturk hanging from the walls of the local castle and various city buildings. The cult of Ataturk felt very pre 1989 Soviet or even 1984-ish. It also did not seem (to me) a particular “joyous” day of celebration. There were a number of trucks driving slowly around the town with PAs playing loud martial “patriotic marching music”, some decorated with flags, some not. The characters manning these trucks (all men) seemed to be out of central Turkish gangster casting. Large big stomached blokes with bushy moustaches and permanent scowls who didn’t seem to appreciate my David Bailey impersonation by taking their photos. I suppose that in the past Turkish internal politics has been very, very (repeat very) violent and it is understandable they are suspicious but I thought that I stuck out a mile as a tourist. I also felt that they expected some sort of opposition or were making some sort of provocative stance? I didn’t ask what political party they were supporting but I assume they were right wing secularists.

The “Rough Guide” suggested that Selcuk has designated quarters for “settled Yoruk Nomads....Kurds and gypsies......socialising little with each other”. I tried to see if there were any parts of the town which were not displaying flags or posters. I assume that many Kurds are not impressed with the legacy of Ataturk? Neither Islamic fundamentalists. But it seemed that all areas flew the flag. Even if you did not want to celebrate you would stick out if you didn't so you could understand the reason why you had to "fly the flag". Or else?

Saying all this, it did overall seem to me that Ataturk is a national hero for the mass of Turks. His achievements are pretty amazing despite the obvious “but”.

He first came to prominence as a divisional general who helped defeat the First World War allied invasion in Gallipoli in 1915 (my "Taid" or Welsh Grandfather also fought in Gallipoli with the British Royal Naval Division), he later defeated the Greek, French and Italian Armies who were trying to dismantle Turkey, overthrew the 600 year Ottoman sultanate, emancipation of women, the abolition of all Islamic institutions and the introduction of Western legal codes, dress, calendar and alphabet, replacing the Arabic script with a Latin one. Nuf said?

When he introduced surnames in 1935 for Turks he choose the name Atatürk, meaning 'Father of the Turks'. He died on 10 November 1938.

Of course he was also a dictator who crushed opposition and ruthlessly destroyed opponents who he thought plotted against him and his vision for the future, whether that threat was real or imagined. His understandable obsession with national unity in 1923 meant repression for minorities in the years after and he legitimised the role of the Armed Forces in overthrowing civilian governments they did not like. In the end at the age of only 57 he drank himself to death.

We flew back last night from a 26C blue sky Turkey to a Gatwick Airport car park where I had to scrape the ice off the car windows. End of holiday.