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Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President, stands as a towering figure of the 20th Century. Among the great leaders of history, few have achieved so much in so short period, transformed the life of a nation as decisively, and given such profound inspiration to the world at large.
Emerging as a military hero at the Dardanelles in 1915, he became the charismatic leader of the Turkish national liberation struggle in 1919. He blazed across the world scene in the early 1920s as a triumphant commander who crushed the invaders of his country. Following a series of impressive victories against all odds, he led his nation to full independence. He put an end to the antiquated Ottoman dynasty whose tale had lasted more than six centuries - and created the Republic of Turkey in 1923, establishing a new government truly representative of the nation's will.
As President for 15 years, until his death in 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introduced a broad range of swift and sweeping reforms - in the political, social, legal, economic, and cultural spheres - virtually unparalleled in any other country.

His achievements in Turkey are an enduring monument to Atatürk. Emerging nations admire him as a pioneer of national liberation. The world honors his memory as a foremost peacemaker who upheld the principles of humanism and the vision of a united humanity. Tributes have been offered to him through the decades by such world statesmen as Lloyd George, Churchill, Roosevelt, Nehru, General de Gaulle, Adenauer, Bourguiba, Nasser, Kennedy, and countless others. A White House statement, issued on the occasion of "The Atatürk Centennial" in 1981, pays homage to him as "a great leader in times of war and peace". It is fitting that there should be high praise for Atatürk, an extraordinary leader of modern times, who said in 1933: "I look to the world with an open heart full of pure feelings and friendship".

Mustafa (Kemal) was born in 1881  in Salonica, then an Ottoman city, now in Greece. His father Ali Riza, a customs official turned lumber merchant, died when Mustafa was still a boy. His mother Zubeyde, a devout and strong-willed woman, raised him and his sister. First enrolled in a traditional religious school, he soon switched to a modern school. In 1893, Mustafa entered a military high school where his mathematics teacher gave him the second name Kemal (meaning perfection) in recognition of young Mustafa's superior achievement. He was thereafter known as Mustafa Kemal.
 
 
 

The house where Mustafa Kemal was born in 1881 in Salonica. (Scale: 1/50)

I made the models of the two of  Ataturk’s houses: One is the house where he was born in Salonica, and the other one is in Sisli district of Istanbul. Ataturk mostly prepared the War of Turkish Independence in this  building which is now  ‘’Museum of Ataturk’’.

Mustafa Kemal was born in the room on the upper floor (left side) giving to the backyard.

The house where Mustafa Kemal was born was in Salonica, then an Ottoman city, now in Greece. In 1933 the Athens government make gift of it to Ataturk, in the name of the Turkish-Greek friendship. It was transformed to a museum in 1953 and since then was restored three times. My model reflects the original version of the house.
A replica of the same house was built in Ankara in 1981, within the compounds of the Ataturk Forest Farm (AOC) and dedicated to the Turkish people.

Museum of Ataturk in Istanbul-Sisli
 
 
 

Mustafa Kemal organized many meetings in that building when Istanbul was under occupation of western powers. He left the house on May 19, 1919 to go to Samsun, a port city on the Black Sea coast, where he initiated the Turkish War of Independence.

On 1924 Mustafa Kemal moved to Ankara. The Istanbul Mayoralty purchased the house on 1928 and transformed it to a museum in 1942. Some of the belongings, his suits, photos, historical documents, paintings and souvenirs were gathered there.

The building has been restored two times in 1960 and 1962 and reopened to the public on May 19,1981.