Homage to the father of the Nation

April 19, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

Visiting Anit Kabir - the massive mausoleum and museum complex for Mustapha Kemal Ataturk was not high on my list of priorities. However, I was really pleased to go there as it gave me an insight into the man, the Anatolian people, the independence struggle and the birth and development of a nation. The sarcophagus is huge and housed in an open building. Outside guards are ritually changed with much goose stepping, to the delight of visiting school children. The image of the Anatolian woman: tough, resilient, self sacrificing is depicted very well in paintings and tableaux in the museum. No wonder Ataturk moved the capital away from Istanbul ( that had been overrun by the Entente ) to Ankara. Personal memorabilia including clothes, wine glasses (He drank heavily and died of Cirrhosis - perhaps he had witnessed too many horrors during the war of Independence) and even a rowing machine are displayed. Ataturk was clearly a master military strategist, with a facility for the rousing phrase to motivate troops and the whole populace. 


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