Ataturk Memorial

[gatling]

I am in Turkey this week. While visiting my client (an armored vehicle manufacturer) I noticed a photo in the plant manager's office that really caught my eye...a black and white gloved hand holding an M1 Garand by the barrel/gas chamber. I asked about it and he told me it was at Kemal Mustafa Ataturk's Mausoleum and Museum. I knew I had to try to get the same shot as soon as I saw it.

It's hard for us, I think, to realize just how much Ataturk means to the Turkish people. I've seen his photograph in offices, in peoples' homes, in small shops, etc. He is their George Washington, except that I believe he is revered more. I can't remember seeing Washington's photo in anyone's home or in small businesses in the US. Reagan or Kennedy, maybe. Certainly not the current White House occupant.

Anyway, politics aside, here are my photos (and yes, I know, there's a spot of rust on one of the Garands...I was going to point it out but thought better of it at the last minute).

This is the one that duplicates what I saw in my client's office...

And here are the rest...

 

[contender]

Wow. Interesting & historical.

 

[Zorba]

Wasn't Ataturk responsible for the Armenian genocide?

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Wasn't Ataturk responsible for the Armenian genocide?

It appears he was definitely involved . . .

http://www.armenian-genocide.org/kemal.html

:roll:

 

[Ruger Packer]

Aside from the funky looking helmets, the guard in the 2nd picture -- what is he standing on????

 

[KWYJIBO]

It's hard for us, I think, to realize just how much Ataturk means to the Turkish people. I've seen his photograph in offices, in peoples' homes, in small shops, etc. He is their George Washington, except that I believe he is revered more. I can't remember seeing Washington's photo in anyone's home or in small businesses in the US. Reagan or Kennedy, maybe. Certainly not the current White House occupant.

He is like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Santa Claus all rolled into one. His given name was Mustafa Kemal, and the title "Ataturk" was added to that. It means, literally, "father of the Turks."

He completely revolutionized his country in the 1920s, bringing many modern, western ideas and policies into their culture. Today, every city, town, and village in Turkey has a prominent memorial statue of him. It is a serious crime to deface these, or to even say something derogatory about him. As an example, you could be sentenced to years in prison for spitting on his statue, and would likely be arrested for just littering in front of it.

Those are neat pictures, Gatling.