Anıt Kabir

Ankara is a modern city- not a whole lot to do as a tourist. Atatürk made it the capital when he founded the republic so visiting his tomb is the main attraction in the city.

The main entrance is guarded by Hittite-style lions. Turkish history is chronicled differently, depending upon who you are talking to. Ataürk reached back to the Hittites as the direct ancestors to the Turkish people. A colonnade surrounds a massive courtyard with the mausoleum in a neoclassical temple at one end. Turks were proud to have their pictures taken at this site, some said a prayer by holding out their cupped their hands.

The museum had some battle scenes (replete with sound effects) of the Gallipoli campaign - similar to the Cyclorama in Atlanta. You get the sense of what life was like in the trenches. Further exhibits were of Atatürk's possessions- everything displayed except his underwear- including his stuffed dog.

Other exhibits documented the founding of the republic. Atatürk changed the alphabet from Arabic script to Western. He opened adult schools; officials were required to learn the new script within 3 months. Previously illiteracy was high partially due to the fact that the written language was different from the spoken language. He also changed the day off from Friday to Sunday and changed the calendar from lunar to Gregorian - all to accomodate the West. He wanted to push Turkey forward and he was emulating the West as the center of progress. I was thinking of how Israel did things quite differently - even though they were faced with similar challenges of quickly forming a state and unifying the populace. Israel revived an ancient language that no one else was speaking in the world and observed Saturday as the day of rest. (Certainly there were many differences between the founding of the State of Israel and the Republic of Turkey, but there are some interesting similarities- plenty of material for PhD theses.)

There were many oil paintings about the War of Independence, women were prominently featured. Scenes showed villagers donating linens to the war efforts and women making bullets. A scene of Greeks pillaging a town stated that they had documentary evidence that the clergy was involved- and in the background you see a priest holding up a cross.

Saturday night dined with Louise and Steve friends- a Fulbrighter from Baylor U. who is researching Atatürk's transition from military commander to politician. On the way home we passed "Abu-Ghraib Santa," as Steve pointed out- blown up Santas hung by their hands from a store's awning. (still waiting for Steve to post this video)

Sunday I visited Hasan and Elif who I had met in an Emory law class. Elif is a professor of Political Science at Ankara University and Hasan is completing his PhD. They have a cute 1 yr. old. As I discussed politics with them they told me they had voted for AKP- the current party in power, but are now disappointed with them. AKP was representing the masses, but now that they are in power, they act elitist. Hasan and Elif immediately recalled an incident where a party member had insulted the common folk- they took this as a great offense. When I asked about their "democracy" Hasan responded by saying- "what kind of democracy do you have with just 40% or so of the people voting?" I would have loved to talked with him longer and take notes as we talk...I'm struggling now to remember all he said. He is a thoughtful, introspective young man. I look forward to corresponding with him as more issues come up. Elif was interested in having the Fulbrighter scholar come talk to her class.

Sunday evening we dined with a couple (he's British and she works for the Italian embassy) and their French neighbors. Luckily a fresh shipment of Italian wine had just arrived from the embassy. Sebastian, the French neighbor, works for the United Nations Development Program on designing a new police program for Turkey, to comply with EU standards. I would have loved to hear more details- he just said they will have some successes- not all of their recommendations will be implemented. When I mentioned this to my flatmate, she was not as impressed as me. She said- didn't you hear the news....she thought the EU was close to dissolving because Ireland had vetoed something. Turks often bring up their unfair treatment compared to Croatia and Romania. They resent the fact that they are forced to jump through many hoops. They think they are in a better position than many E. European countries and the EU simply does not really want to admit Turkey.

Monday all planes were delayed for 3+ hours due to heavy fog. Didn't get to work at 2, as planned. Arrived home about 6.