Good Will Gestures in Thessaloniki - Ataturk Society of America

Good Will Gestures in thessaloniki
The Greek Ministry of Culture announced its unanimous decision to designate the
house at the corner of Apostolou Pavlou and Aghiou Dimitriou Street in Thessaloniki
a “historical monument.”
On May 20, 2011 Th e Directorate
of the Greek Ministry of Culture
announced its unanimous decision
to designate the house at the
corner of Apostolou Pavlou and Aghiou
Dimitriou Street in Th essaloniki a “historical
monument.” Th e three-story house
replete with a courtyard is the birthplace
of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. It was here
that the Founder of Modern Turkey was
born in 1881, and where he spent his
youth. Again it was here that he met with
close friends to plan the establishment of
a free and independent nation.
According to the archive records in
Th essaloniki (Selanik) the house was
built sometime before 1870 by a teacher
named Hadji Mehmed from Rhodes, and
Atatürk's father Ali Riza Efendi rented it
from the owner. Mustafa Kemal lived in
this house until 1888. Aft er the Balkan
War, Th essaloniki was seceded to Greece
in 1913, and the title of the house was
transferred to the Greek Government by
its occupant, Atatürk’s mother, Zübeyde
Hanim. Th e Greek Government subsequently
sold the house to a Greek family.
In 1935, the Th essaloniki Municipal
Council was magnanimous in donating
the residence to the Republic of Turkey
as a gesture of goodwill. Th e house was
evacuated on February 19, 1937 and its
keys were presented to Th essaloniki’s
Turkish Consulate, which has been its
caretaker since. Th e ground fl oor shops
that had been created by the earlier
owner were removed, and the house
restored to its original state, including its
yellow exterior paint. Th e Turkish Foreign
Ministry and the National Education
Ministry decided to convert it into a
museum. In 1950 additional restoration
work was carried out, and although some
of the furniture was authentic, lost pieces
were replaced with period furniture from
Atatürk’s Mausoleum in Ankara and from
the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul.
On November 10, 1953 the house was
fi nally opened to visitors as “Atatürk’s
House.”
Atatürk passed away on November 10,
1938 at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul
at the age of 57. His death was mourned
not only in Turkey but throughout world.
Aft er his death and since, there have been
endless studies and assessments carried
out, resulting in universal praise of his
leadership and accomplishments, including
the following statement by the Greek
newspaper Katimerini:
“Each nation erects statues to those
who have guided it to victory in war and
prosperity in peace. But Turkiye will have
to quarry mountains to fi nd stone for its
statue of Atatürk. For here was a man who
aroused the admiration of friend and foe
alike, a genius whose loss is felt not only by
Turkiye, but by the entire civilized world
(Katimerini, Athens).” w
SUMMER’11 | VOICE OF AtAtüRk 21