M. Kemal Atatürk's Homesickness for Thessaloniki, His City of Birth
ISSN 1712-8358[Print] Cross-Cultural Communication ISSN 1923-6700[Online] Vol. 12, No. 9, 2016, pp. 1-9 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/8785 www.cscanada.org M. Kemal Atatürk’s Homesickness for Thessaloniki, His City of Birth Sinan Çaya[a],* [a]Ph.D., Boğaziçi University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, always been prone to hero-worshipping ever since the era Istanbul, Turkey. of successive glorious sultans) invariably consider him *Corresponding author. supra-human! Received 14 June 2016; accepted 19 August 2016 [At the end of the First World War, The Mudros] Published online 26 September 2016 armistice obligated the Ottoman military to demobilize its combat units quickly, the actual demobilization Abstract proceeded slowly and came to a full stop with the start of As Atatürk, the founder of Modern Turkey, grew older; a new war—this time to save what was remained of the he more and more missed his home-city Salonika and its empire in 1919-1921—against Greek, French, Italian, and surroundings. The loss of his home-city during the Balkan Armenian forces. Wars further aggravated his passionate nostalgia. Some of A new generation of combat-tested battlefield his behavior patterns as narrated in history, reveal us his commanders, under the supreme leadership of Mustafa homesickness openly. On various occasions; the meals, Kemal Pasha, found a willing audience within the ranks the accent, and the entire culture of his region with its of the postwar Ottoman military. Most of the surviving songs and ballads; always moved the spirit in him, deeply. Ottoman officers (including reserves and retirees), as well Despite his deliberate emphasis of his logic most of the as the conscripts, were drawn to the nationalist cause (Uyar time, in reality, he was a man full of tender feelings.
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