Ankara

Ankara is the modern capital of Turkey. There is a very good reason why Istanbul does not hold that position. After the Turkish defeat, large sections of the country, including Istanbul where under foreign occupation. They held a very small portion of the Ottoman Empire in the middle of modern Turkey. Mustafa Kamil (may have the spelling incorrect) was given the task by the Sultan of setting up a military action to regain their independence between 1919 and 1922. He was largely successful and became the first Prime Minister after the Sultan was exiled to Malta. He remained in power until his death in 1938 (at the age of 57 from cirrhosis of the liver). During his time in office, he did much to bring the new country into the 20th Century. Some of his reformations including adopting the Arabic alphabet and changing names to include a surname. As an honour to him, the Parliament gave him the name`Ataturk` which means`father of the Turks`.

Mr. Ataturk is a very complicated and interesting historical figure. German architects designed this huge shrine to him including his personal effects such as his cars, clothes, books, etc. There is a regular changing of the guards which we happened to get caught up in. The soldiers in the boxes hold a long knife behind their backs while they stand perfectly still. Test of endurance during hot summer days!