Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

I was walking across the square this morning, head down, when suddenly I became aware that everyone around me was standing stock still, as if suddenly frozen on the spot. There had been a public announcement, but I hadn't understood it. It was a weird feeling. I just had to stop and join in without knowing why, moved by a strange feeling of solidarity, as if there were some unwritten law that I should show support and respect. I learned later that today is the anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the great founder of modern Turkey. His story, and that of Turkey, is beautifully told by Louis de Bernieres in his novel "Birds Without Wings". It's a better novel than his blockbuster "Captain Corelli's Mandolin". You will laugh, cry, despair at the stupidity of nations but, above all, you will dare to hope that, left to get on with their lives, ordinary people are fundamentally good and can rub along well enough, despite their differences. Turkey has become quite polarized in recent years and is in need of healing. They need a modern Ataturk to bring them together, but not a military man, just a great father (or grandfather) figure. A sort of Turkish Mandela. Now that would be something!