Can Baydarol
My wife said, ‘Come on, stop being lazy, we’re going.’ Before I could ask, ‘Where to?’, I found myself on a coach heading to Thessaloniki with a tour company (I’ll keep the name to myself, no need for advertising). Let me just say this: if you’re a bit older like me, night-time coach journeys aren’t exactly recommended.
Anyway, putting aside the fatigue we experienced, let’s get to the main purpose of the trip. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the opportunity to show our respect to our Father on 10 November. We couldn’t go to Anıtkabir or visit Dolmabahçe Palace. When we learned that the restoration of Atatürk’s house in Thessaloniki had been completed, my wife thought, ‘Since we couldn’t perform the final duty, let’s celebrate his birthday!’ Visiting the land of my ancestors on this occasion was another bonus of the trip.
Let’s move on to my impressions of Atatürk’s house.
First of all, it is worth noting that there is a large crowd of visitors in front of the house, entering the garden in groups of 50. As you can imagine, many of our citizens who heard that the restoration was complete rushed to Thessaloniki.
However, I cannot refrain from making a few minor criticisms. First of all, a sign in front of the door catches the eye. The Turkish text reads: ‘…Gazi Mustafa Kemal, supporter of the Balkan Union, was born here.’ True, there was no surname law at the time of his birth, so “Atatürk” was not added to Gazi Mustafa Kemal’s name. But we can’t help but ask: was he born as ‘Gazi’ at the time?
The second major blunder lies in the French translation.
The Balkan Union, let’s say it’s acceptable, is expressed as ‘l’Union Balcanique’, but the title of Mustafa Kemal being the champion of this union does not quite fit. (champion de l’Union balcanique) Although I cannot quite grasp the full meaning of the word ‘champion,’ it certainly should not be used in this context. On the other hand, if the translator was thinking of the Balkan Alliance when using the term Balkan Union, let us make a small reminder that this alliance was formed against the Ottomans and led to the start of the Balkan Wars.
So, leaving the sign aside, what do you observe when you enter?
The most striking thing is the pomegranate tree planted by Atatürk’s father, Ali Rıza Efendi, over a century ago, still standing tall and bearing fruit. The pomegranates on the tree reminded me of the growing love for Atatürk, especially among young people.
The interior of the house did not really reflect a home atmosphere. It is an important Atatürk museum that will develop further (after all, the restoration has only just been completed). For now, the most significant omission is Atatürk’s wax statue.
Despite all the shortcomings, I congratulate those who carried out the restoration and recommend that all citizens who have the opportunity visit Atatürk’s house.
On our return journey, Kavala, which we visited, left a favourable impression as a pleasant place to stay for our next trip to Greece (definitely not by bus). Naturally, we remembered Osman Kavala and the names of those who remain imprisoned despite the European Court of Human Rights rulings, and we recalled the negative consequences of domestic political issues before returning home.
The biggest surprise, however, was at the Ipsala border crossing. According to our guide, we had crossed the Greek border reasonably quickly and smoothly. Accordingly, we would be back at the bus stop at 00:30.
However, as soon as we entered Turkey, our bus was surrounded by Turkish police. Everything in the vehicle was unloaded onto the ground. The luggage compartment was opened and all the suitcases were unloaded in the same way. The interior of the vehicle was searched for about two hours. When we asked, ‘What are you looking for?’, we were told, ‘Drugs.’ We knew from the news that drugs were being smuggled from Turkey to Europe, but this was the first time we had learned that such a traffic could be operating from Greece to Turkey.
During the last kilometres of the return journey, we debated whether this lengthy search was a show to get Turkey off the grey list, or whether it was revenge for those returning from Thessaloniki not showing enough respect for Atatürk. When we finally got off at our destination at 2:30 a.m. instead of 12:30 a.m. and returned home, I swore that no force on earth (not even my wife) would ever make me take a bus journey again.