{"id":41822,"date":"2025-11-09T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/on-the-85th-anniversary-of-mustafa-kemal-ataturks-death-cities-where-he-left-his-mark\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:18:11","slug":"on-the-87th-anniversary-of-mustafa-kemal-ataturks-death-cities-where-he-left-his-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/on-the-87th-anniversary-of-mustafa-kemal-ataturks-death-cities-where-he-left-his-mark\/","title":{"rendered":"Cities where Atat\u00fcrk left his mark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A young republic: A new way of life<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"turkish
On October 29th, we celebrate the 102nd anniversary of our Republic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This year, as the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye celebrates its 102nd anniversary, we too celebrate this land that we love so much. Many groundbreaking events occurred here over the last century: For one, women in the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye gained the right to vote and stand for election long before women in many other countries around the world. And it was a one-in-a-million leader and his followers who made it all happen… On the 87th anniversary of the death of that leader, Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk, we reflect on the paths that shaped his life and pay tribute to his memory with respect and love. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where it all began: Thessaloniki<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Pink
Atat\u00fcrk House Museum, Thessaloniki\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk was born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, in a three-storey pink house on Islahhane Street in the Koca Kas\u0131m Pa\u015fa district. His father, Ali R\u0131za Bey, was descended from Kocac\u0131k Yoruks, while his mother, Z\u00fcbeyde Han\u0131m, came from a Turkish family who settled in Langaza Town. Unfortunately, the health services of the period lacked the means to combat diseases and illnesses; four of Atat\u00fcrk’s siblings died at an early age. Little Mustafa grew up with just one sister, Makbule. The pink house, with a terrace where Mustafa once fed birds, is now open to visitors as the Atat\u00fcrk House Museum in Thessaloniki. On the door of the house is an inscription: The founder of modern T\u00fcrkiye lives in this house.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northern Macedonia: A school in Bitola<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"manastir
Monastir Military High School, Northern Macedonia\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kemal graduated from the Thessaloniki School of Higher Education (Selanik R\u00fc\u015fdiyesi) with high scores and, on the recommendation of a relative, attended the Monastir Military High School (Manast\u0131r Askeri \u0130dadisi) in the city of Bitola. His entire family came to the train station to see young Mustafa Kemal off to Bitola. It is said that what Mustafa Kemal learned at the military school in Bitoli laid the groundwork for the republic that he would build in the future. It was at Bitoli that Mustafa Kemal was, in his own words, “alone and independent”.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And our home, \u0130stanbul<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"mustafa
Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kemal arrived in \u0130stanbul, the city of cities, from Thessaloniki in March 1899. He was 18 years old and would study at the Turkish Military Academy. The Ottoman capital, which Mustafa Kemal first glimpsed from the deck of a ship, still has the same magical beauty today.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The starting point for the war of independence: Samsun<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"ataturk
Band\u0131rma Ferry\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Samsun is another city that holds great importance in the story of the founding of the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye. Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk sailed from Istanbul to Samsun on the Band\u0131rma Ferry in May 1919, a journey that would later be considered the actual beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. Departing from Istanbul on May 16, 1919, the Band\u0131rma Ferry arrived in Samsun on May 19, 1919, and Atat\u00fcrk and his entourage witnessed the great national excitement in the city. Mustafa Kemal’s speeches in Samsun had an electrifying impact on the people’s belief in the struggle for independence \u2013 it was in Samsun that Atat\u00fcrk laid the foundations of the War of Independence. Thanks to these efforts, the spirit of national struggle was strengthened across Anatolia and the Turkish War of Independence ended in victory.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After that, Ankara, and after that, Anatolia…<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"An\u0131tkabir,
Atat\u00fcrk’s eternal resting place An\u0131tkabir, Ankara<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the story is familiar to all of us. The Republic was founded on October 29, 1923, in Ankara, the capital of T\u00fcrkiye, after a glorious struggle. We\u2019ll leave the details to the history books but it should be noted that, after founding the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk traveled throughout Anatolia, always keeping his ties with the people strong, and that he loved Anatolia very much. We commemorate Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk, who pioneered T\u00fcrkiye’s modernization and development, once again, with respect, love and gratitude on the 87th anniversary of his death.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministry of Culture website, <\/span><\/i>https:\/\/www.ktb.gov.tr\/TR-96346\/selanik-ataturk-evi.html<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samsun Governorship website, <\/span><\/i>http:\/\/www.samsun.gov.tr\/ataturk-ve-samsun2<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encyclopedia of Atat\u00fcrk, <\/span><\/i>https:\/\/ataturkansiklopedisi.gov.tr\/bilgi\/manastir-askeri-idadisi\/<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A young republic: A new way of life This year, as the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye celebrates its 102nd anniversary, we too celebrate this land that we love so much. Many groundbreaking events occurred here over the last century: For one, women in the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye gained the right to vote and stand for election […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":54297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-places-to-visit-and-routes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41822"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54374,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41822\/revisions\/54374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}