Kemal Ataturk Letter
Dear My American Friend,
Here in Istanbul, Turkey, things haven’t been the same as it used to have been since 1925. Everyone here has changed the way they dressed by males wearing hats with brims than a fez, which is a felt hat with a flat top. Females don’t wear veils to hide their faces in public places and are going to school now! Well, it’s official, Kemal Ataturk, meaning “father of the Turks”, a.k.a. Mustafa Kemal has changed our way of life permanently. Mustafa Kemal was our powerful president of Turkey, but he more likely had all the power making him a dictator of this republic and his was the only political party to be allowed to run for office. But one day in 1925, he was found wearing Western clothing with a brimmed hat and made a law to ban all fezzes and veils from that day forth. After World War I, Kemal wanted to make great changes to Turkey, so he ended the rule of the Ottoman sultans, making Turkey now a republic, but that wasn’t enough for Kemal. Making Western clothing the fashion that was sweeping the nation for all people, thanks to Kemal, and he moved to our capital, Ankara, and introduced the Roman alphabet. Everything changed for 5 decades since today when Kemal died now in 1938 and everything should be back to normal in time, maybe. All for a good cause, I guess.
Your Turkish Friend,
John Akmed
