JULY 1, 1927, ISTANBUL

On July 1, 1927, before our train began to slowly enter the station, we saw that our entire route was decorated with Atatürk's pictures, flags and confetti, and laurel leaves. In the meantime, the soldiers and police were seen as ready and waiting by taking great precautions. Just as we were entering Izmit Station, we saw that a very large arch was prepared. GREAT ATATURK on the front , THIS NATION LIVES WITH YOU , on the other side, LIVE GAZIwritings were visible. All male and female representatives of Istanbul and Izmit, municipal committees, athletes of training clubs, Governor of Istanbul, Corps Commander, etc. Members of the delegations were looking forward to Gazi Mustafa Kemal. Towards 12 o'clock, we arrived at Izmit Train Station. That large crowd was looking forward to seeing Gazi, waiting for him to get off the train. Gazi was dressed very elegantly that day. Black patent leather shoes under his black clothes, a very stylish white striped tie, and as soon as he appeared in the window, screams of live and exist, horns, the whistle of the locomotive, the place started to ring.

We were watching from the second car with great excitement and enthusiasm, as if our hearts were going to go out. As soon as he got off the train, the cannonballs were starting to rattle. After the Istanbul and Izmit delegations greeted Gazi by shaking his hands one by one, an Istanbul deputy, whose name we later learned was Muhtar, gave a speech in short but very concise sentences. Gazi was smiling very happily and happily, sending greetings to the people with his hands, and the ground and sky were groaning with applause. After the ceremony, he greeted the military detachment and we left the station as a group and boarded the military engines on the dock to go to the Ertuğrul Yacht, which was waiting for us, and came to the Ertuğrul Yacht, accompanied by artillery fire. He was accompanied by Nuri Bozok, Cevat Abbas and Kılıç Ali gentlemen and a few other deputies.

In the Gulf of Izmit, especially the battleship Hamidiye, Berk, Peyk, Basra, defense ships lined up one after the other. The Izmit Naval Command has made all its preparations, the sailors are full of white clothes, and the people on the beach are excited. Meanwhile, the people coming from the cities on the Marmara coast were applauding Atatürk enthusiastically by the ferryboats at the port.

Accompanied by the Hamidiye Cruiser, we set off with the sound of whistles and cannons. The veteran was a little tired, we took him to his private cabin and he said, "I'm going to rest a bit," and sent us all away.

After resting for a while, he called İbrahim, the table was prepared, he ate with his friends and had conversations. Journalists on board began to interview and take photographs by asking permission. He joked with them, made interviews like conversations, had pictures taken while smiling; it was very enjoyable.

During lunch on the Ertuğrul Yacht. (July 1, 1927)

We had come towards Gebze, and he was responding to the enthusiasm of the people gathered on the beaches by waving their hands. While sitting at the table for a while, he looked forward and said , "Well, Büyükada has been seen, so we are coming . "

As a matter of fact, while approaching the Bosphorus, a regiment of barges, boats, rowboats, barges, etc. They were greeting their Veterans, blowing their whistles and shouting among their inner circles, some of them even approaching that they were in danger several times.

In the meantime, presumably around Heybeliada, the state and press officials from Istanbul approached Ertuğrul with a few engines and arrived on the ship, Gazi accepted them on the deck and made compliments. Oh my God, the smile, happiness and excitement he gave to those people while waving his silk handkerchief to his beloved people was worth seeing, and I am glad that I saw and lived those moments as the closest ones.

Ertuğrul greets the people of Istanbul as he enters Istanbul with his yacht. (July 1, 1927)

Now that we were close to Moda, he turned to us and said, "Give me a pair of binoculars," and we immediately ran to get one. Looking towards Fenerbahçe and Kalamış Bay, they said , "How beautiful, how beautiful . "

Ertuğrul Yacht is accompanied by the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Kazım Özalp. (July 1, 1927)

Later, from Sarayburnu to the opposite coast, we came to Ortaköy, Beşiktaş and then Dolmabahçe Palace. It was six in the evening. In a boat belonging to Seyrisefain (maritime lines in the Ottoman Empire), Atatürk went to the beach with the naval harmonica playing and the applause of those who greeted him, everywhere was a flower garden. We made our way to the palace from the Selamlık gate on the red carpets. This is how our days with Atatürk in Istanbul and Dolmabahçe Palace began in such a beautiful way.

He was greeted by his sister Makbule Atadan on his arrival at Istanbul Dolmabahçe Palace. (July 1, 1927)

After a very short rest, they made an address to their representatives in Istanbul in the examination hall. I can never forget that he described Istanbul in his address as "In the Refuge of Two Worlds" .

Afterwards, Atatürk, who was bored in this downstairs hall, ordered the setting of the table in the zülvecheyn hall on the side of the chamber of the temple. They stated that they would do their work in the library next to the hall.

After 18:00, a table was set by the sea after the band, the orchestra started to play under the conductorship of Zeki Bey, and Atatürk sat down to dinner with his friends. Between 22:00 and 23:00, the Turkish section delegation under the administration of Hafız Yaşar Bey took its place in a corner of the hall and started the Turkish section.

Source: Atatürk'ün Yanı Başında, Çankaya Köşkü Kütüphanecisi Nuri Ulusu'nun Hatıraları. Derleyen: Mustafa Kemal Ulusu, Doğan Kitap, Ekim 2008. ISBN: 978-975-991-954-2. Sayfa: 23-25