SCHOOL YEARS Atatürk

SCHOOL YEARS

Mustafa started school while his father was still alive. Ali Rıza Bey's desire was to send Mustafa to the newly-opened Şemsi Efendi school so that he would get a contemporary education although Zübeyde Hanım wanted him to attend a traditional school where mostly prayers and hymns were taught. This caused arguments inside the family and eventually a concensus was reached. Mustafa put on his brand new clothes , grabbed his embroidered bag with the Holy Koran inside and started the traditional school, following his mother's wish, with a traditional ceremony accompanied with prayers and hymns. However, just a few days later, he changed his mind and started Şemsi Efendi school.

In this way, he managed to make both Zübeyde Hanım and Ali Rıza Bey happy. Mustafa Kemal had to be indebted to his father for it was him who opened his son's path with modern and contemporary ideas. However, unfortunately Ali Rıza Bey would not be able to see the success of his son Mustafa "RISING OVER ANATOLIA LIKE THE SUN."

Ali Rıza Bey's death in the November of 1893 due to apparent economical inconveniences made it impossible for the remaining family members to live in Salonika. Thus, Zübeyde Hanım went to Rapla farm by Langaza near Salonika where her mother Ayşe Hanım's stepbrother Hüseyin Ağa was working as the steward. Hüseyin Ağa took good care of Zübeyde Hanım and the children but Mustafa did not want to stay in the farm for a long time.

HIS AMBITION WAS TO GET A GOOD EDUCATION AND BE A GREAT MAN

A decision was made to return to Salonika where Mustafa began to attend a secondary civil servant school. However, things were not fine. One day, he was severely punished by his teacher "Kaymak Hafız Efendi" for he had quarreled with one of his classmates. He was also in a continuous disagreement with one of the other teachers "Copur Hafız Nuri Efendi". All these events drove him to extreme furiosity and made him quit the school. This event was one of the milestones in his life. He made the decision to choose his real place: the Military.