Most of our holidays this term are to celebrate him in some way, and on Atatürk Memorial Day, we gathered for a huge tribute to the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Children sang, recited poems, and the school played a siren for an entire minute at the time of Atatürk‘s death, 9:05 am. Every car on the street stopped and people got out to stand at attention. We have heard that it is ingrained in the minds of Turks everywhere to stop what they are doing at 9:05 and pay tribute with a moment of silence.
One of the first things we were told when we started school was never to say anything bad about Atatürk. As one man, it is amazing the impact he had on this country. Some Turks even believe that, like Elvis, he never really died but will return to help Turkey again in its darkest hour…
