skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Ataturk's House
Thessaloniki, Greece
I knew very little about Ataturk or the Republic of Turkey before coming to Macedonia (aside from how the Thanksgiving bird came to have the same name as that state*). The name Atatürk means 'Father of the Turks'. There is a brief biography here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ataturk_kemal.shtml
Visiting Ataturk's house was very educational for me, and exciting because it was the first time I've been admitted to a consulate! The house where Ataturk was born was a gift from Greece to Turkey in 1935, and is located within the gates of the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki. To be admitted to the grounds, you first have to locate the intercom system, and then explain your purpose for being there, which I did with some apprehension.
The grounds
The house:
Entryway:
The guide who greeted me directed me to the main entrance, offered me an English-language guidebook about Ataturk, and explained the purposes of the various rooms and their contents. At the time the family lived there, men and women had separate drawing rooms in which they entertained guests, so there was the father's sitting room and the mother's sitting room. The museum contains personal effects such as clothes which belonged to Ataturk, a Koran which belonged to the family, and several sets of the Tasbih, the Islamic prayer beads:
A sitting room:
The parents bedroom (with the Koran on the bedpost)
Kitchen:
A photograph of Ataturk with members of Parliament:
A Turkish newspaper: 
Bathroom: 
* When the bird we now call a turkey was discovered in North America, the discovers had only seen a similar animal in Turkey. So, they affixed the name to the bird. (Look it up! http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/556/ )
Easter CookoutI was invited to the weekend house ("veekendeetza") of some friends for an Easter cookout on Monday, April 28th, which was the Macedonian Orthodox Easter. Our dinner was a lamb the family cooked in their outdoor "furna", like a wood stove. When they took the lamb out midway to pour off the juices, I noticed that the eye was intact and the lamb's tongue was sticking out to one side. The meat was prepared with fat and spices (not sure which ones), and they also added potatoes to the pan to cook along with the meat. After about four hours, the lamb was cooked and tender. But... I didn't eat too much. I wasn't squeamish about having seen it nearly whole, really, but there was something about the smell that didn't appeal to me. Maybe it was the absence of mint jelly?
Our meal was rounded out by plenty to drink, salad, cheeses, bread, etc. When we weren't eating (which was most of the time), some of my friends kicked around a ball and played chess. We also hiked around the area (where Igor spotted the turtle he's holding), to the nearby hot springs (where we bottled some mineral water), and an excavated Roman Bath (or a Turkish bath, or possibly both). It was definitely an experience I could ONLY have here. Here are a few more pictures of the day.
(if you look closely at the last photo-- click to enlarge--, you'll see a horse on the hill above the ruins)
