JULY 1 OF 1927…

Eight years later, Atatürk is in Istanbul:

“After the victory, Atatürk is coming to Istanbul for the first time. It had been years since they separated. They had come to the light through dark days, and had risen from treason to savior of the homeland. They are looking at Istanbul from the deck of Ertuğrul Yacht. Everything, from the balconies of mosques to the roofs of houses, is blackened by people. All of Istanbul is standing, all of Istanbul is in front of them, from a one-year-old child to an old man in his eighties."

Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver asks Atatürk:

- "Who knows how excited you are?"

Atatürk takes his hand to his heart and asks:

- “ Is there excitement there? ”

- “No, Pasha.”

- “ Look, let me tell you why not, because I know well, the day may come, this same dense crowd gathers like this to lynch us.”

Samet Ağaoglu

Source:  Atatürk’ten Anılar, Kemal Arıburnu, İnkılap Kitapevi 1998. ISBN: 975-10-1392-5. Sayfa:144-145