The young Mustafa Kemal was no exception, working hard and playing hard. Teachers were strict on the students, but the young cadets frequently visited the districts of Beyoğlu and Galata for evening revelries after days of working hard. According to Andrew Mango’s book “Atatürk,” the young Mustafa Kemal and his fellow cadets were worked hard and treated roughly, and fed a simple diet of rice, beans and mutton.
The building of the Military Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. But what always brings me back is imagining the young Mustafa Kemal marching along its corridors with his future brothers-in-arms, discussing politics and dreaming of a new tomorrow. Indeed, I’ve frequented the building often to gasp over its ancient swords, intricate armor and intimidating modern guns. One amazing piece is the original chain the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn during the siege of Constantinople.
It’s quite the pity, because it’s stock full of enough war memorabilia for any military history nerd to gasp and drool over.
However, it’s not a major tourist stop, perhaps due to its rather tired interior and uncanny wax figurines. You might have seen it before it’s a stone’s throw away from the Osmanbey metro stop with intimidating tall fencing and a garden full of weaponry. The Ottoman War Academy building still stands today, but now houses the Istanbul Military Museum in Harbiye, a quarter that borrowed its name from the academy. In much the same fashion, we’re starting our Istanbul trip from the same place young Mustafa Kemal began. The young cadet, fresh out of Monastir (Bitola) military high school in Macedonia, enrolled in the Ottoman War Academy (Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Şahane) to train to become a career soldier. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, then known as just Mustafa Kemal, was just 18 years old when he first stepped foot in Istanbul, in 1899. So today, I’m going to set out on the streets of Istanbul to visit some of the most important places in the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and see if I can’t bring back some of that revolutionary air into my own life. It can sometimes suck the joy out of this day for even the most ardent follower of Kemalist values. 29 is Republic Day in Turkey, and what better way to celebrate than remembering the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk? In Turkey we spent our childhoods being dragged from one event to another on national holidays, and being spoon-fed republican history in our classrooms.