Day 8 - Anitkabir
Starting off our day with breakfast at the hotel, we boarded our bus and drove through the capital city of Ankara to arrive at one of the most grand structures in the entire city, Anitkabir. This location is high up in the city as a mountain was quite literally made taller for the structure. This structure is an immense Mausoleum dedicated to Ataturk, his life, and most importantly, his legacy.
For those who do not know much about this man, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born in what is modern Greece in 1881, but at the time, this land was subject to the Ottoman Empire, which had been on the decline for decades at that point. After joining the army and leading troops at Gallipoli in World War I, holding off the British, Australian, and New Zealand forces, he grew increasingly popular with the troops, and the general population. At the end of the war, the Ottoman government was humiliated as they accepted the Treaty of Sèvres, which would’ve functionally murdered any chance of a strong independent Ottoman Empire. In response, Ataturk rallied the Turkish people and declared a new government, fighting back against the occupation from Allied forces and repelling the invasion from the Greeks, which had been done in a moment of opportunity. After securing the sovereignty of the country, he built the new government on his set of principles, named Kemalism. The primary focus of this was to turn what was the ailing Ottoman Empire, who had been behind in many aspects, into a modern Turkish state, who could hopefully stand side by side with Europe.
At the site (which was managed by the military) we could see soldiers standing at every entrance to guard the seemingly sacred tomb. After a brief explanation of what we were looking at, we entered into the museum underneath the monument. Inside we were shown the various items of Ataturk, including many of his outfits, his exercise equipment, and a number of swords which had been gifted to him from countries, including Japan and the Soviet Union. Past this section was a hall of paintings depicting the gruesome war of independence Turkey had suffered through as they fought the Greeks invaders away. These paintings included artwork depicting Greek Orthodox priests rallying their soldiers to massacre Turkish women and children, and Ataturk leading his troops as they push to Izmir, the last bastion of the Greek forces. In the last section of the museum we shift away from the war which Türkiye was born from, and into the state building Ataturk completed. We were shown sections teaching about his reforms on language, industry, military, agriculture, and more, as all focused on modernizing Türkiye and bringing it forward. After leaving this museum we were lucky enough to catch the changing of the guards at the memorial, and we were able to view the ceremony before leaving.
Photo of Greek troops attacking Turkish civilians
From what I’ve described here, Ataturk sounds like a wonderful leader who helped to liberate his people from occupying forces, and helped to guide them into a future of prosperity. This would be exactly what the Turkish State wants you to feel as you walk the halls, hearing the sound of bullets and artillery fire. In many aspects, what it depicts is true, but just as importantly as what it tells you, is what it doesn’t, that needs to be learned. From readings we have done, we learn how Ataturk was a complex man who both led his country into a new age, but at the same time, didn’t want to lead “everyone” into this age. What Türkiye encompasses today has for thousands of years been a mix of mainly Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Kurds, and other small groups of people, and when Ataturk was building his Turkish nation, he did not want many of these groups to be present, as he saw them as a threat to unity. What this resulted in was their deaths and removals, many of which had been people residing in their cities and towns for thousands of years. Along with this, Ataturk, although promising to bring democracy, always seemed to tend towards keeping the power for himself, as he didn’t want to give the control of the country which he was constructing to anyone.
Memorial to Ataturk
we realize from all this is that the Turkish government wants Ataturk to be seen as a heroic founder, one which is worthy of the utmost respect, and one which can be used to write the narrative of the Turkish people. Just as Americans have the Revolutionary War and France the French Revolution, Ataturk and his actions represent more than just a man and his goals, but the story of a people, and a story which can be used to foster trust and unity amongst the over 80 million citizens of Turkey. We see that the narrative and monuments dedicated to this man were made to be the story of a nation, and a way for Turks to see themselves as a single strong, proud, and industrious people, often in the face of outsiders who doubt them.
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