ATATÜRK STAMPS
After Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, the head of
state most frequently portrayed on stamps is undoubtedly Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk. When the Turkish Republic was established on
the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, depicting its founder on the coutry'sn
stamps was one way of expressing the deep respect and gratitude
which the nation harboured towards this statesman who had rebuilt
their country. Today they continue to symbolise that the nation
is still following his vision of a modern nation. With a very few
exceptions, Atatürk is the only Turkish president to be depicted
on the coutry'sd stamps.
Of the over 2700 stamps issued by the Turkish Republic since 1923,
around 500 bear his portrait, sometimes in the form of reproductions
of photographs, paintings and statues. A further fifty or so stamps
commemorate his reforms, congresses and achievements.The victories
and reforms of Atatürk not only inspired his own nation, but
many other countries, such as India and Iraq, in their own struggle
for independence.
His model of a secular state was similarly followed
by other nations, as illustrated by these words of Habib Burghiba,
ounder of modern Tunisia, referring to Turkey's independence victory
under Atatürk's leadership: '... The victory at the Battle
of Sakarya was the most unforgettable memory of my twentieth year.
At that time I asked myself if I, too, could not mobilise my nation
in the same way; if I could not instill its spirit with the same
unbounded yearning for freedom.' It is for this reason that Atatürk's
portrait has appeared on the stamps of numerous other countries,
including Argentinia, New Guinea, Pakistan and Malaysia.The first
Turkish postal stamps depicting Atatürk were issued on 1 January
1924 to commemorate the Lausanne Peace Treaty signed on 24 July
1923. This eight-stamp Peace Commemoration series was produced in
Istanbul at the printing house of the Public Debt Office. The portrait
of Atatürk, dressed in military uniform and a fur kalpak, is
set in a medallion in the upper right corner.
When we arrange the stamps bearing his picture in
chronological order, we find ourselves with a miniature encyclopaedia
of Turkey's recent history. The events which they mark and commemorate
stretch back to the late Ottoman period, and include the Gallipoli
Campaign and War of Independence, the proclamation of the Republic,
Atatürk's many reforms and achievements, and events in Atatürk's
own life. Depicted on these stamps we find, for example, the house
in Thessaloniki where he was born in 1881, the War Academy where
he studied, his mother Zübeyde Hanim, the Congress of Sivas,
the introduction of a new Latin alphabet, the statue of Atatürk
erected in front of the Faculty of Linguistics and History in Ankara,
and much more.
The universality of his vision and his call for
'peace at home, peace in the world' made him one of the best known
statesmen in the history of the world. This is why other countries
have issued postage stamps expressing the affection and respect
in which his memory is held.
In the year 1981, the centenary of his birth, which
was declared Atatürk Year by UNESCO, Tunisia, Malaysia, and
numerous other countries issued Atatürk commemoration stamps.
One of these was the 1.4 pound denomination stamp issued by Egypt,
which as Enver Sedat (who was assassinated on 6 October of the same
year) said in his memoirs, symbolised the love of the Egyptian people
for Atatürk. As the stamps show, Atatürk's importance
goes far beyond his role as soldier and statesman. He was a man
who envisaged a world based on the principles of amity and peace.
One of his most moving messages, emphasising peace between nations,
is his words spoken in memory of the thousands of foreign soldiers
who fell at Gallipoli, one of the bloodiest campaigns in world history.
On 18 March 1998, when stamps were issued jointly by the Turkish
and New Zealand Post Offices in memory of the Anzak soldiers who
fell at Gallipoli, these words were printed on the first day covers:"Those
heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives...
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies
and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country
of ours... You, the mothers who sent your sons from faraway countries,
wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are
in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become
our sons as well"Atatürk stamps tell the story of a leader
whose world view, aspirations, and progressive ideas still guide
Turkey today, more than half a century after his death.
* Turgay Tuna is a freelance writer
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