In this colorized photo Mustafa Kamel Atatürk, the revered President of Turkey, is at the wedding of his adopted daughter, Nebile, on January 17, 1929. Nebile was one of his adopted children: a boy and eight girls. His best-known adopted child was Sabiha Gökçen, who became Turkey’s first female pilot and the world’s first female fighter pilot.
During his presidency, Atatürk instituted sweeping changes in order to create modern Turkey. Some of those changes are evident in this photo. In 1925, Turks no longer were allowed to wear the kavuk (a religious headgear) or the abaya (a full-length gown women wore to cover their body), unless they were religious officials. They also no longer wore the fez (for men) or the yasmak (for women), but instead wore European-style hats such as a bowler or fedora. Women also started wearing jackets and coats, and some traveled to Paris to learn about the latest fashion trends
Ataturk's Rise To Power
The Turks lived in Central Asia around 2000 BC, later spreading to cover a vast part of Asia and Europe, establishing a number of empires. In the early 11th century, they settled in Anatolia, eventually establishing the Anatolian Seljuk State (1080-1308). After the Mongol invasion of Anatolia, the Ottoman State began its rule, which lasted from 1299-1923. The Ottoman Empire covered a territory which spanned three continents and lasted for 623 years, until the end of the First World War. At its height the Ottomans ruled over Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, all of the islands in the Easter Mediterranean, and the Middle East.
Starting in the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire began a slow decline, which continued until World War I. Under the Mondros Armistice, the territories of the Ottoman Empire were occupied by Britain, France, Russia, and Greece, and the Ottoman Empire no longer existed. As a result of this occupation, a national resistance and liberation movement began under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. Kemal, who had risen to prominence after he secured the Turkish Ottoman victory at Gallipolli in World War I, mobilized Anatolia in an attempt to gain Turkish independence. From 1919-1922, the Turkish National Liberation War was fought by a small army of volunteers. On July 24, 1923, the Lausanne Peace Treaty was signed, which created the national borders of the Turkish state. On October 29, 1923, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed, and Mustafa Kemal, who would become known as Atatürk, or the “Father of the Turks” was elected president.
He Transformed The Country
Ataturk in 1905. (Source: (Wikipedia).
During his time as president, which lasted from 1923 until his death in 1938, he became one of the most important leaders of the 20th century. Atatürk was a secularist and a nationalist, and his policies became known as Kemalism. Under the leadership of Atatürk, the first Grand National Assembly created a new political and national system based on parliamentary democracy, human rights, division of powers, and private ownership. They also instituted secularism and separated religion from the state.
Even The Alphabet Changed
Dancing with his daughter. Source: (Reddit).
Under Ataturk, Turkey, a country which was predominantly Muslim, also underwent vast cultural changes, as he helped to Westernize the country. A secular education system was established, making primary education free and compulsory, and he opened thousands of new schools. Before Atatürk, approximately 10% of the population was literate, and he enlisted John Dewey, the American educational reformer, to help reform the educational system. After discovering that it took about three years to learn to read and write in traditional Arabic script, Atatürk worked with linguists and professors as they unveiled a new Turkish alphabet, based on the Latin alphabet. This would solve the challenges of the complexities of learning Arabic script and help to solve the problem of literacy. In addition, congresses were organized, focusing on science, education, history, economics, arts, and language. They also developed libraries and book transport systems for remote areas. Dewey remained involved, presenting recommendations for educational reform, and Atatürk worked to create a skill base in Turkey, educating women not only in household skills, but in the skills necessary for joining the work force. He also strove to educate Turks to be responsible citizens.
He Instituted Women's Rights
Source: (Reddit/colorized by MyHeritage).
He also enacted sweeping reforms to allow women to have equal rights. He worked towards abolishing the veiling of women and began the policy of educating all girls. In 1926, he passed the Turkish civil code, which was modelled on the Swiss Civil Code and gave women equality in matters such as inheritance and divorce. He also tried to use education as a means of promoting gender equality, introducing coeducation, which became the norm by 1927.
Prior to his presidency, sculpture was rarely practiced in Turkey, because of the Islamic tradition of avoiding idolatry. For Atatürk, culture was “the foundation of the Turkish Republic,” and he opened the State Art and Sculpture Museum in 1927. The Turks began researching the pre-Islamic culture of the Turks and also considered folk arts to be a source of Turkish creativity.
The End Of His Life
Source: (im.haberturk.com/colorized by MyHeritage).
Atatürk also carried out a policy of Turkification, in which non-Turkish minorities were pressured to speak Turkish in public, non-Turkish place names had to be changed, as did non-Turkish surnames. The aim was to create a unified nation. In 1934, the Turkish parliament gave him the new surname of Atatürk..
Atatürk appears to be drinking alcohol in this picture; a few Muslim sects do allow it, while many do not. Atatürk was a drinker most of his life, consuming half a liter of the anise-flavored liqueur raki (the national drink of Turkey, and similar to the Greek ouzo) every day. He also smoked tobacco, primarily cigarettes. In 1938 after a serious illness, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis. He died on November 10, 1938 at the age of 57. Nebile, the adopted daughter who is getting married in the photo, died in 1943, at the age of 33.
Photo colorized by Klimbim
The photo at the top of this story was colorized by Olga Shirnina, aka Klimbim; you can see more of her work at her Flickr page.
