Alternate Vision

Mustafa Kemal was given the name Ataturk (Father of the Turks) by Parliament in 1934 after the surname law was adopted. Reading his biography. Outside the military victories and cultural and social reforms that gave Turkey a new life, his vision for the post Ottoman emergence of the nation was to "elevate national life to the highest level of civilization and prosperity."
European hats replaced the fez, citizens took surnames and women stopped donning veils. This radical, neoteric outlook included a transformation from the Islamic calendar to the Western calendar. Viewed as a catalyst for western anti-Islamic attitudes, Ataturk's actions were often controversial; his methods brutal and cruel. It seems to me that his steady manipulation of people's mindsets and attitudes had an indelible impact on Turkey's socio-cultural fabric.

"What comes to the American mind when hearing the name Ataturk? Nothing? Or perhaps a stream of consciousness that might flow in this way: Ataturk- Turkey- exotic- fez- funny little hat- Shriners- silly old men wearing this hat and driving tiny cars like madmen in every parade in small-town America…. Or, as a tourist in Istanbul, a fascination develops of "the other", and an attempt is made to make sense out of the exoticism of the East evident in a culture that also mirrors the West
- Beverly Blythe (NYU)

Burning desire to visit Turkey. The likes of Kemal, Che and Fela inspire me to prudently challenge conventional wisdom. Oh and happy belated thanksgiving.