Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Written by admin on July 7, 2008 – 9:17 pm -

The Turks are a very proud and nationalistic people, something which one cannot help but notice when traveling through the country. Flags and banners are ubiquitous, especially on national holidays like Republic Day, where one can see the Turkish flag flying proudly wherever they look. Just as popular as the flag itself, if not more so, are banners that commemorate Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

Mustafa Kemal, the man who would later become known as Ataturk, or Father of the Turks, was born in 1881. Enrolling in the military at a young age, Mustafa Kemal had a distinguished career, coming to prominence during the First World War.

Despite his own remarkable efforts during the war, including a decisive role in The Battle of Gallipoli resulting in bitter defeat for the Allies, the Ottoman Empire was, none the less, defeated. In the aftermath of the war the Allies now began the process of carving up and occupying the shattered remnants of a once-mighty Empire. The Turks were far from defeated, however, and from these shattered pieces, Mustafa Kemal helped the scattered military units to regroup and form a coherent resistance movement. Mustafa’s ultimate goal was no less than complete and total independence for Turkey, a dream which came to fruition in 1923.

Though Ataturk created a secular republic, the Turks’ veneration of Ataturk is practically cult-like. In a sense, Ataturk was more than a political leader, he was also a spiritual one, even if his doctrine was deliberately non-religious. Ataturk was adamant that the new Turkish Republic be a secular, democratic and modern one, and no sooner had he pronounced the new nation, than he commenced his policies of modernisation, revolutionising every aspect of Turkish life from education and language to the nation’s economy to the very notion of nationhood itself. In “Kemalist” doctrine religion and state were irrevocably detached from one another and in its place Ataturk promoted a modern, pragmatic philosophy favouring nationalism and national unity over any form of religious devotion. By doing this, Ataturk not only fought for, created and re-invented a new secular, modern and democratic Turkish Republic, but also helped to create the very ideological glue that has, for decades, helped to bond the nation and its people together.

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Geography of Turkey

Written by admin on July 7, 2008 – 8:25 pm -

Geography of Turkey:
The Republic of Turkey is located, both geographically and geopolitically, at the intersection of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Anatolian peninsula encompasses the majority of the country, before extending upwards, onto continental Europe, across the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, onto Thrace.

Straddling the Bosphorus Strait is the sprawling city of Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, the largest city in Europe and third largest city worldwide. Turkey’s second largest city is Ankara, capital of the Turkish Republic, located near the centre of Anatolia.

Turkey shares borders with a number of countries; Bulgaria and Greece, in Europe, Georgia, Armenia and a small region of Azerbaijan, to the East, and in the Middle East, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Turkey also lays claim to the northern part of Cyprus, following an, as-yet unresolved conflict between the Republic of Turkey and Greece.

The coast of Turkey touches the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Turkey is also the source of both the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, which in turn, are widely considered to be the source of civilisation itself.

Due to its southerly position, Turkey enjoys a warm, Mediterranean climate. For this reason Turkey is blessed with agricultural abundance. It is also the reason why it has become so popular with sun-seeking tourists, as well as those wishing to retire or to buy property.

Image courtesy of the CIA World Factbook.

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