44
geçmiş zaman kipinde
past tense
yakalayacaktır. Genç, “Polis
henüz devrim ve cumhuriyetin
polisi değildir.” diye
düşünecek, ama hiçbir zaman
yalvarmayacaktır. Mahkeme
onu yargılayacaktır. Yine
düşünecek, “Demek adliyeyi
ıslah etmek, rejime göre
düzenlemek lazım” diyecek.
Onu hapse atacaklar. Yasal
yollarla karşı çıkışlarda
bulunmakla birlikte bana,
başbakana ve meclise
telgraflar yağdırıp, haklı
ve suçsuz olduğu için
salıverilmesine çalışılmasını,
kayrılmasını istemeyecek.
Diyecek ki, “Ben inanç ve
kanaatimin gereğini yaptım.
Araya girişimde ve eylemimde
haklıyım. Eğer buraya
haksız olarak gelmişsem, bu
haksızlığı ortaya koyan neden
ve etkenleri düzeltmek de
benim görevimdir.”
İşte benim anladığım Türk
genci ve Türk gençliği!
“Bursa’ya uçarak gel,
Sabiha...”
Yalova’ya her gelişinde
yakınlığı nedeniyle mutlaka
Bursa’ya da uğrardı Gazi
Paşa. Bazen günübirlik durur
bazen günlerce kalırdı. Bu
yurt gezilerinin amacı hem
devrimleri, yenilikleri gittiği
yerlere götürmek hem de bu
toplumsal dönüşüm sürecinde
halkın nabzını tutmaktı.
Çünkü onun için önce halk
geliyordu ve halkın bir yeniliği
benimsemesi, sevmesi ve
isteyerek uygulaması son
derece önemliydi. Manevi
kızı, Türkiye’nin ilk kadın
pilotu ve dünyadaki ilk
kadın savaş pilotu olan
Sabiha Gökçen’de on altıncı
gezisinde eşlik etmişti
ona. Amaç başta kadınlar
gelmek üzere tüm gençleri
havacılığa özendirmek ve
havacılığın önemini anlatmaktı.
Atatürk’ün “Bursa’ya uçarak
luck to the Director in good
administration of the factory
pursuant to high technology
and appropriate order I have
witnessed.”
Last ball, last Blonde
Zeybek, last power
That day, the streets were once
again crowded with people. This
time, Bursa locals had a double
reason to rejoice. Ata was back
in Bursa, and Merinos Factory
being put into service. The
journal of Bursa heralded the
historic news on the title page
and printed that issue on silk
fabric. At his final night in Bursa,
the Municipality organised a
ball in his honour, even though
Ataturk was too ill to participate.
He had to rest, but did not care
about such necessity. He thought
it would be disrespectful to
decline the invitation and joined
in all his nobility and elegance.
He stood erect, danced, joined
the chats; in a sense, he defied
his illness. Before leaving the
ball, he turned his eyes, which
he tried to hold open in order
to conceal the exhaustion in his
body, he turned to the orchestra
and wanted them to play a
zeybek, the Blonde Zeybek…
As the music began, he danced
as a true efe, without missing
a single figure, even hitting his
knees on the floor. Everyone
around held their breath and
watched him in admiration.
There was also sorrow in the
air. Everyone in the hall knew
he was sick and he should not
exert himself that much, but none
could say a single word to stop
him. They only tried to hide their
tears. As Ghazi Pasha sensed
the feelings, his moves were
getting even stricter; his steps
were getting more powerful as
he faced the sorrowful eyes of
others. Dance was over, Ghazi
Pasha straightened up, looked
around and said: “Zeybek has
the power of easing exhaustion.”
He was in good spirits despite
a deteriorating health, and he
seemed like proving his joy
with a loud laughter in the hall.
That night, he took a rest at the
mansion, and left for Istanbul
the following day. His “worthless
Atatürk’ün Bursa gezisinden fotoğraflar (Bursa Kent Müzesi)
Atatürk Orhangazi ilçesini ziyaret ederken (Orhangazi Belediyesi arşivi)
Photos from Ataturk’s Bursa trip (Bursa City Museum)
Ataturk during his visit to Orhangazi town (Orhangazi Municipal archive)
