We Commemorate Our Great Leader Atatürk with Respect and Longing on the 71st Anniversary of His Passing!

On the 71st anniversary of his passing, we commemorate the founder of our Republic, the Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with longing and love, through one of the most precious legacies he left us: his Address to the Youth.

"O Turkish Youth! Your first duty is to preserve and defend Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic forever.
This is the only foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure. In the future, too, there may be malevolent people at home and abroad who will wish to deprive you of this treasure. If some day you are compelled to defend your independence and your Republic, you must not hesitate to weigh the possibilities and circumstances of the situation before taking up your duty. These possibilities and circumstances may turn out to be extremely unfavorable. The enemies conspiring against your independence and your Republic may be the representatives of a victory unprecedented in the annals of the world. It may be that, by violence and ruse, all the fortresses of your beloved fatherland may be captured, all its shipyards occupied, all its armies dispersed and every part of the country invaded. And sadder and graver than all these circumstances, those who hold power within the country may be in error, misguided and may even be traitors. Furthermore, they may even identify their personal interests with the political designs of the invaders. The nation may be impoverished, ruined and exhausted.
O child of Turkish future! Even in such circumstances, it is your duty to save Turkish independence and the Republic! The strength you need is present in your noble blood!"

Gazi Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK / 20 October 1927

A selection of published photographs of Atatürk: