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“Since most of my childhood days were spent on this Bandırma ship, I knew every part of it like the back of my hand and loved this ship dearly. Captain İsmail Hakkı Amca loved me very much too, and brought me gifts every time he returned from a voyage.
I could not leave without seeing this great commander, who created storms in my mind and whom I brought to life in my imagination. I begged my father, “Please take me to Mustafa Kemal.” My father thought for a moment, then said, “Come on, my son, perhaps we can find a way,” and my heart soared with joy. My father and I went by boat to the Bandırma steamer, anchored off Maiden’s Tower.
We had left my mother on the quay. A little while later, my father returned from where he had left me and said, “Come on, my son, I’m going to take you to Mustafa Kemal.” Was I dreaming?
We reached the cabin reserved for Mustafa Kemal and entered together. The great commander, the great soldier Mustafa Kemal, was sitting before me, staring intensely with his deep-blue eyes. Calling out to us, he said, “Hacı Bey, maşallah, the young fellow is sharp as a tack, his eyes are full of intelligence; come here to me.” How I went to him, how I kissed his hand, how he stroked my cheek—it was like a dream, my God… When he asked me, “What is your name?”, I came to my senses and said, “Nurettin, sir.” He told me, “This country belongs to all of us, but above all to you young people. There must be no giving up in the struggle, all right?” Then he turned to my father and said, “Come on, Hacı Bey, let’s bring this farewell to an end now; we have a long way to go,” and politely saw us off…”
Nuri Ulusu
Have you ever looked at Nutuk from this perspective before?… “NUTUK Compared with Memoirs”… This work presents Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s simplified Nutuk chapter by chapter through memories that were actually lived and memoirs that were written down… And it does not stop there: through framing texts, it introduces the memoirists, the important events of the National Struggle, and who’s who to the reader in clear language. It unfolds with the flow of a novel or film, in one breath… It tells of the National Struggle, how the Homeland was saved, how the Republic was built, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk…
