History and Holidays

(photo courtesy of Ataturk.com)

Tomorrow is the date on which the Founder of the Turkish Republic died, and Istanbul is getting ready. Banners bearing Ataturk's image and Turkish flags are appearing eveywhere, and every school has been planning ceremonies for weeks now in honor of him. Ataturk succombed to his liver disease at 9:05 a.m. in Dolmabahce Palace, and at that time tomorrow the entire country will stop in its tracks, stand, and have a universal moment of silence in honor of the father of modern Turkey. It is kind of awe-inspiring to think of the entire population of a country doing anything at exactly the same time, but as we have been told that even if we are alone in our homes, classrooms, or anyplace else, we are to stop what we are doing as soon as the sirens begin, stand and be silent, it is clear that this concept is a reality here.

I am reading a biography of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk now, written by Andrew Mango, and it is becoming increasingly obvious to me the reasons for the reverence of the man on the part of Turkish citizens. As the Ottoman Empire fell, Ataturk gathered the Turkish people and led them to the development of a modern republic, including a new alphabet, secularism, and rights for all, including women. Women in Turkey actually had the right to vote before women in the United States!

I have also been learning about the history of the neighborhood/former village in which I live, Arnavutkoy. The current name means "Albanian Village," and came about during the population exchanges which took place in the early years of the Republic in which the Greek and Kurdish residents moved out and the Albanians moved in. The Turks then also moved to the area, which was known at the time for its fishermen and its strawberries.

The strawberries are long gone, but the concrete piers along the Bosphorus are still filled every night, all year round, with boats, fishermen...and fisherwomen. I discovered a website dedicated to the oral history of Arnavutkoy: http://www.megarevma.net/theoralhistory.htm.