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A matter of pride

NOTE: This article was first published for “Today’s Zaman,” an English daily newspaper in Turkey.  View the article as it originally appeared here.

While jostling in the back seat of a dolmus barreling down the streets of Denizli, the minibus halted suddenly as three tanks paraded by.   It was Cumhuriyet Bayram (Republic Day), the holiday commemorating the official start of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

Tanks paraded down the center of Denizli for Republic Day in Turkey.

Turkey is a country of many symbols, but no others are more dominant than the Turkish flag and image of Ataturk.  On the highway between Ankara and Istanbul, you will find statues of a Turkish soldier raising the flag on many hilltops.  In shops, schools, and houses you’ll find the flag or image of Ataturk, many times both, displayed predominantly.

As an American, I’ve found Turkish national pride familiar and something I can immediately identify with.  Nearly two hundred and forty years ago, my country also found itself on a quest for independence.   Living in Boston, I was brought up on the stories of how American colonists stood up and took up arms against the British Empire.  Because of this, I wanted to know more about how Turks celebrate their country and independence.

“It is something so special.  The feeling can’t be compared with any other,” said Mehmet Güleç, a Denizli businessman, when asked to describe Turkish pride.

Turkey’s pride may not be able to be described in words, but I’ve certainly felt it.  During last month’s Victory Day celebrations, I was in Istanbul where buildings everywhere along the Bosphorus donned Turkish flags.  Even thirty-story skyscrapers draped themselves with colossal flags the size of city blocks.  Some of my friends are uncomfortable with such grand displays, but I found the unity displayed on these two days profoundly hopeful.

Images of Ataturk and the Turkish Flag are everywhere in Turkey.

Part of that hope came in Denizli where I was invited to a Republic Day reception at Pamukkale University.  Live music with a dazzling female singer filled the hall.   Mammoth Turkish flags hung almost everywhere: from the second floor balconies, windows, and even the bottom of glass elevators that proudly displayed the banner.  Along the walls were posters displaying the reforms made in 1922, and the subsequent successes of the Turkish republic including the advancements it made for women and in education.

The faculty and other guests danced through the night from the Tango to the hypnotic and more cultural Mevlana step.  Together, people shared food, drink, and conversation.  During the middle of the night, student performers dressed in oriental garb and put on an interpretive dance illustrating Turkey’s rich five-thousand-year history that culminated with the arrival of a dancer representing Ataturk in his military garb and Ottoman fez.

For me, Pamukkale’s reception was a sign of not only Turkish pride, but also the progress Turkey has made in its short eighty-six year history.  In 1900, the aging Ottoman Empire was a collection of loosely connected tribes, and today the Turkish Republic represents a unified country that also stands as one of the world’s twenty largest economies.

“We have crazy blood,” said Güleç as we talked over a cup of Turkish tea, “It doesn’t matter how powerful our enemy or dire the situation.  Even if we knew in one second we would die, we would do it for Turkey.”

Certainly, ideological differences divide Turkey’s political landscape just as it does in the United States, and every other democracy.  But both Turks and Americans find themselves able to unite behind their nation.  This does not necessarily mean blind obedience, but rather a desire to serve and contribute to the success of our home countries.

“The mind will change, but our power is in our blood.   When the time comes, it will rise,” said Güleç about Turkish spirit.

Dancers in costumes that evoked Turkey's mixed history posed for a picture with me behind one of the larger flags.

It’s that strong sentiment I’ve come to admire from Turks as they proceed to tell me the “great accomplishments of Turkey.”  Turkey has much to be proud of, and I’m happy to be its guest during such an exciting period.

Two months ago I clipped a keychain of the Turkish flag on my photographer’s vest to show my appreciation of Turkey.  People stop me many times, often giving me a quick nod in appreciation of the flag.

Others ask, “Why are you wearing this?” some even add with a perplexing look, “Are you Turkish?”

I say no, adding that I’m an American and understand that freedom comes with a price.

As Guleç noted during our conversation, the red color in Turkey’s flag “symbolizes the blood lost in the fight for independence.

I say I wear the flag because I share the feelings of what it means.  My country also understands the price of independence.  I want to show my support of Turkish independence as I travel.

It’s a matter of pride.