Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is in Tekirdag. (23 August 1928)

Gazi Mustafa Kemal's Visit to Tekirdağ:
Tekirdağ was the first town where Gazi Mustafa Kemal served as a division commander. On August 23, 1928, it gained the title of the city where it would introduce the new Turkish letters to the public for the first time as a teacher. The proficiency of the people of Tekirdağ in adopting and learning the new Turkish letters constituted an indicator for Mustafa Kemal's implementation of Turkish letters in a short time and reaching his goal. One of the revolutionary features of Mustafa Kemal was that he made the revolutions public after sharing them with his staff. Mustafa Kemal goes on country tours before the revolution he will realize. He would tell the people about the revolution he was going to make, show it, get it done, and finally, he would praise the people and give it to the people. Falih Rıfkı Atay; His method of revolution,He expressed it as "praising the people, costing them what they will do, and appearing as a people's trust" . Indeed, Mustafa Kemal's visit to Tekirdağ confirms Falih Rıfkı Atay's thesis on his reformism. Gazi Mustafa Kemal's visit to Tekirdağ was given in detail by the Turkish press. In order to fully reflect the respect and love shown by the people of Tekirdağ to Gazi Mustafa Kemal and their desire to learn new Turkish letters, we have found it appropriate to report the developments during Atatürk's visit to Tekirdağ as they were published in Turkish newspapers.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is in Tekirdağ, where he introduced the new letters. (23 August 1928)

Gazi Mustafa Kemal arrives at Tekirdağ pier with his Ertuğrul yacht at 05:50 on the morning of 23 August 1928. Among those who came to Tekirdağ with Mustafa Kemal, Deputy Internal Affairs Şükrü Kaya, deputies Salih, Falih Rıfkı, Ruşen Eşref, Recep Zühtü, Secretary General of the Republican People's Party Saffet and Moscow Ambassador Tevfik Bey, Corps Commander Salih Pasha, Chief Adjutant Rusuhi, Naval Operations Manager Sadullah and his aides Nasıd and İsmail Hakkı Bey. The people of Tekirdağ poured into the pier and the beaches to meet Gazi Mustafa Kemal. The people of Tekirdag welcome Gazi with great sincere applause. Gazi went straight to the government office after 11:15 and had the officers practice writing in New Turkish letters. Gazi goes to Tekirdağ Municipality at 13:30, where he works on the implementation of new letters. After talking about the necessity and benefits of using the New Turkish letters during his visit to the Zabitan dormitory after the municipality, he stopped by a pharmacy in the bazaar and had a teacher write a sentence in Arabic letters to the master, and he himself wrote this sentence in new letters. Although no one can read the Arabic text correctly, everyone who is there can read the new text correctly. From here, Gazi arrives at Tekirdağ Pier after driving around the city. Saying goodbye to the military guard and the people waiting at the pier to bid farewell to Gazi, Ertuğrul returns to Istanbul with his yacht, Büyükada. He also writes this sentence in new letters. Although no one can read the Arabic text correctly, everyone who is there can read the new text correctly. From here, Gazi arrives at Tekirdağ Pier after driving around the city. Saying goodbye to the military guard and the people waiting at the pier to bid farewell to Gazi, Ertuğrul returns to Istanbul with his yacht, Büyükada. He also writes this sentence in new letters. Although no one can read the Arabic text correctly, everyone who is there can read the new text correctly. From here, Gazi arrives at Tekirdağ Pier after driving around the city. Saying goodbye to the military guard and the people waiting at the pier to bid farewell to Gazi, Ertuğrul returns to Istanbul with his yacht, Büyükada.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with Şükrü Kaya in Tekirdağ. (23 August 1928)

During Gazi Mustafa Kemal's trip to Tekirdağ, his success in making the people of Tekirdağ adopt the new Turkish letters, the love of the people of Tekirdağ for Gazi, and Falih Rıfkı (Atay), who was with Gazi during his Tekirdağ trip, explains as follows;

“ At 6:00 in the morning, the Ertuğrul yacht was sleeping in the town of Tekirdağ. The cry of nature draws attention to the town, and the old age of the neighborhood. His Excellency the President awoke early. Slowly there was a stir in the town; The Governor has come to the yacht.

We were informed that the people of Tekirdağ did not believe that the President had come.

"— Can my dear President come so quietly?" they say. But after a little while, the applause of the people on the beach, their screams, the « horns » music of the cars gave the town an air of splendor. The President of the Republic broke through the raging waves of the people and went to the Government House. He rested in the governor's room. In the halls and in the corridor there was a crowd of officers, enjoying the public. After a minute or two, Gazi;

"— Guys, can you bring the Milliyet newspaper?" said.

They found the previous «Milliyet» the day before; Gazi went to the general assembly hall adjacent to the Governor's room; There was a blackboard at the end of the half-arc of officers and viziera. His Excellency the President asked;
«— Do you know the Turkish script?» : from the crowd

«We learn, we learn; voices came. Gazi invited an ordinary person to the throne and told him to write a sentence in new writing. A little later, we read the following sentence with three small mistakes.« The Turks who have the Great Ghazi are happy." He invited someone else; "— I don't know yet, sir." said.

«— Is it that hard to learn five or ten shapes? Why didn't you get involved and find out?» said.

Now, the first alphabet and writing lesson of the chief of the nation had begun for the Turkish nation. Calling everyone one by one, he explained all the various alphabets and spelling rules with examples. The experience of a janitor was worthy of attention. The concierge of the Tekirdag Government Office now knows the new Turkish script!

The lecture at the Government House lasted an hour. That December, we learned from our coincidence that the new writing will be completed sooner than expected; Everyone is happy and they all have one desire! "We will quickly complete the alphabet and grammar of the commission."

The second visit of His Excellency the President was to the Municipal Office. During the five or ten minutes they stayed there, they used to express their opinions on the application and completeness of the new writing. Gazi, who joined the crowd in the street drowning in applause and enthusiasm, went to the Zabitan dormitory, which is a little far away. And he dictated the lines in Turkish script to the Livâ Commander. “The Livâ Commander has been registered by the gentleman in the house of the officer. I was very pleased to visit my fellow officers on the mountain of Tekir today. Please tell my satisfaction to those who are not present here. I would like to request and request them to learn the new Turkish letters to their neighborhoods. »

The streets were impassable from the people of Tekirdağ, whose density was increasing day by day. An unfortunate feast day; women, girls, everyone, big and small, was having a feast. Gazi was among the beloved people. Hodja Effendi, who was standing in a corner, caught his eye.
"- Will you come? Hodja Effendi,” she said.

He immediately entered the nearby pharmacy. He invited a few people from those who had accumulated in front of the door to his table. He wrote an inscription in Arabic on a piece of paper. He had others read this article. Everyone read every word a thousand ways. After a while, the President of the Republic wrote the same lines in the new Turkish script. Everyone who knows Arabic and does not know read these lines completely correctly and of course. Giving the paper in his own handwriting to Hoca Efendi

«— I want you to learn Turkish script.» said.

Hodja Effendi, who was dignified and calm, withdrew the giran-baha heirloom every time. His Excellency the President saluted the military detachment on the beach and boarded the yacht. On the pier, a woman jumped and ran to Gazi. She fell to the ground, she rubbed the dirt of her feet into her eyes.

As I write these lines on the yacht, my revenge is this: it is a matter of months and months; Nor is it a generational issue. Everyone except Bil'a has understood that personal and national interests are to get out of this future as soon as possible. Everyone has embraced the meaning, purpose and importance of the new writing. In a year or two, what the Great Chief says will come out. I'm telling you now. You will see what will happen.

                                                                                                                   Ertuğrul yacht 24 August 1928”.

Naşit Hakkı Uluğ narrates the memory of Mustafa Raşit, the President of Tekirdağ Teachers' Union, when Gazi Mustafa Kemal came to Tekirdağ and while he was teaching the Latin letters to the civil servants;

"- When we arrived at the Government House, Gazi was giving explanations to the officers around a blackboard about Latin letters and testing them one by one. While those who knew French were successful, those who did not were surprised and hesitated. In the face of this situation, Gazi said;

- You should have been prepared by now!

- It was a small address, a reproach. Everyone was silent. There were articles about this revolution in the newspapers. But the case was not formally addressed. For this reason, believing that it would be beneficial to explain the truth, I went towards him, greeted him and said:

 - His Excellency, yes, as you said, you did not see us prepared for this job. Let me give you the reason. Five or ten days ago, the commission responsible for publishing the Latin font should not try to learn the random Latin letters that appear in the advertisement given to the newspapers. An officially sealed alphabet will be published by our commission soon. Let's try to learn after he leaves”.

Gazi Tekirdağ sincerely welcomes the words of the Head of Teachers and to Şükrü Kaya, Deputy Internal Affairs, who is with him:

He said to write down the gentleman's words and hurry up. ”

Immediately after Gazi Mustafa Kemal left Tekirdağ, he presented a 3-item suggestion to the scholars and experts who gathered at Dolmabahçe Palace between 25-29 August 1928 and demanded that the alphabet be published in Latin letters as soon as possible and grammar spelling rules published.

Gazi Mustafa Kemal had the opportunity to teach and adopt the Turkish alphabet to the public in Tekirdağ, as well as to see the problems that occurred in the transition to new letters and to take measures for this.
The desire of the people of Tekirdağ to learn the new Turkish letters showed their loyalty to Mustafa Kemal and his reforms. However, Gazi Mustafa Kemal was amazed by the love of the people of Tekirdağ for him and their desire to learn new Turkish letters. The success of his first teaching experience in Tekirdağ and the belief that the Turkish nation could easily learn the new Turkish letters were reflected in the message of Gazi Mustafa Kemal after he returned to Istanbul. In this message, Gazi Mustafa Kemal stated his first impressions in Tekirdağ as follows;

“I was able to visit Tekirdağ, where I was the first division commander, after 14 years. I am very pleased and concise with this. But the point where I am more satisfied and happy is this I can say that my citizens from Tekirdağ have already learned how to write and read the new Turkish letters. I personally tested the officers' kaffe. We made contacts with the people on the streets and in the shops. I saw that those who could not read or write Arabic letters immediately became familiar with Turkish letters. It is a great but great happiness for me to see that the great Turkish nation is showing such a high level of consciousness and progress in this issue of writing, which is considered to be beneficial, without a guide approved by the official authority, before the school teachers started to act. Of course, this will be a miracle for Ağyar. By closing my eyes, I see so brightly the international level of power and prestige that a dazzling Turkish spiritual development can be achieved in a short time, with new Turkish letters, that this scene makes me feel gay. I can only say with certainty, based on the spiritual and emotional state that I feel in Tekirdağ people today, that the whole Turkish nation sees and regrets exactly what I saw and felt. The Turkish Nation, which is so sensitive and conscious, has now appealed that it has been despised for thousands of years to its welfare and invasion. He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.” By closing my eyes, I already see so brightly that this sight makes me gay. I can only say with certainty, based on the spiritual and emotional state that I feel in Tekirdağ people today, that the whole Turkish nation sees and regrets exactly what I saw and felt. The Turkish Nation, which is so sensitive and conscious, has now appealed that it has been despised for thousands of years to its welfare and invasion. He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.” By closing my eyes, I already see so brightly that this sight makes me gay. I can only say with certainty, based on the spiritual and emotional state that I feel in Tekirdağ people today, that the whole Turkish nation sees and regrets exactly what I saw and felt. The Turkish Nation, which is so sensitive and conscious, has now appealed that it has been despised for thousands of years to its welfare and invasion. He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.” only on the basis of this, I declare unequivocally that the whole Turkish nation sees and regrets exactly what I saw and what I felt. The Turkish Nation, which is so sensitive and conscious, has now appealed that it has been despised for thousands of years to its welfare and invasion. He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.” only on the basis of this, I declare unequivocally that the whole Turkish nation sees and regrets exactly what I saw and what I felt. The Turkish Nation, which is so sensitive and conscious, has now appealed that it has been despised for thousands of years to its welfare and invasion. He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.” He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.” He will destroy all material and spiritual mania by breaking them into pieces. There is no longer any room for doubt about that. It is not difficult to imagine the future of my great nation, which has decided to clear its mind and conscience with such determination and certainty.”

The interest and concern that Gazi Mustafa Kemal received in Tekirdağ was the result of the Turkish nation's respect, love, trust and adoption of the reforms he wanted to make. It is also an indication of how right Gazi is in his thought that the Turkish nation is open to innovations and extremely capable of grasping them. It is seen that after Gazi's visit to Tekirdağ, he acted more effectively to spread the alphabet reform.
Right after his return from Tekirdağ, courses were opened all over the country to learn the new Turkish letters, and alphabet and grammar books were published by the state printing house, which facilitated the learning of new Turkish letters and reading and writing. At the same time, institutions were opening courses for their officials on weekends for this purpose. Conferences are held at the Dolmabahçe Palace for the new deputies in Istanbul. Invitations were sent by Gazi to ensure the participation of the deputies in the conferences. Gazi Mustafa Kemal's determination has also increased the Turkish intellectual and the Turkish nation's belief that new Turkish letters can be learned much earlier. We see this best example in Falih Rıfkı Atay's notes on Gazi Mustafa Kemal's trip to Tekirdağ;

“……remember the debates about the time of transfer, we were thinking ibtida one generation, two generations, then ten years, fifteen years; now it's replaced by the moon account. At first, none of us could have imagined that our national interest would be so broad and passionate. However, he was convinced that it was exaggerated for the trouble of transfer. It was all about the attitude of the business. Gazi kept all his writing problems as if he was the cause of independence. We all felt that our ability had increased several times: It was our ideal to get rid of the transfer case as quickly as possible by gaining the confidence to read and write with new letters.”

His words show how strong Gazi's determination, his courage, his belief in himself and in the Turkish nation are. Gazi Mustafa Kemal realized the letter reform that he had designed in his mind long ago, in a short time like a few months. The determination and decision of the people of Tekirdağ and the Turkish nation to learn the new Turkish alphabet was an indication of how well he knew the Turkish nation.

Source: Harf İnkılâbının Gerçekleştiği Süreçte Atatürk’ün Tekirdağ’ı Ziyaretinin Basındaki Yansımaları, Dr.Özgür Mert Çorlu IMKB Fen Lisesi Müdür Yardımcısı, Tarih Öğretmeni, Çağdaş Türkiye Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi XVII/34 (2017-Bahar), ss. 191-214.