From 1923 to 2023... What have we lost in a hundred years?

In 1923, 1 US dollar was equal to an average of 1 TL. In fact, there were periods during the year when we could get 1 dollar for 80 kuruş. In 2023, the dollar approached 30 liras. Even though six zeros were dropped from the TL.

In 1923, 1 pound sterling was 604 kuruş; you could get about 1.5 pounds for 1 TL. In 2023, you can barely get 1 pound for 35 TL.

In 1923, you could buy 1 egg for 2 kuruş; in 2023, a single egg became 5 liras. With the 5 TL you use to buy 1 egg today, you could have opened an egg shop in 1923.

In 1923, you could buy 1 simit for 60 paras; now, in some places, you cannot even buy a simit for 10 liras.

In 1923, approximately 1 kg of bread was 20 kuruş; today, 250 grams of bread is 10 TL. If you calculate it for 1 kilo, it means that with the 10 liras you spend today, you could have bought 2000 loaves of bread in 1923.

Let's put bread aside for a moment;

In 1923, there was freedom, true freedom. You know the story of the villager who couldn't find paper to light his tobacco, burned his face while rolling his cigarette with newspaper, and insulted Atatürk because of it, right? When Atatürk investigated the matter, he canceled the investigation opened against him.

“The man is right, gentlemen,” he said. Now we have come to 2023. Forget about insulting the President; just try looking at him the wrong way and see what happens.

In terms of per capita income, we were among the leaders of Europe, which was the center of the economy and industry back then; today, we are at the bottom.

We are around 38th place.

In 1929, there was an economic crisis all over the world, but it didn't hit us. Our growth rate was 21%. We reached 2023, and the growth rate is around 1%.

In the places you know.

In 1923, inflation could not be calculated. We had just come out of a war, and it couldn't be done. But in those days, inflation was almost non-existent, because even when Atatürk was at the Sivas Congress, he implemented a tight monetary policy.

We reached 2023, and inflation jumped to 70-80%.

What about debt?

In 1923, the country had no debt other than the debt it took on during the War of Independence through the “Tekalif-i Milliye” (National Taxes). We paid those back to the last penny. Oh, and there was also 84 million TL of debt left over from the Ottoman Empire. We paid that off too. In 2023, however, we sold everything we had to be able to borrow from foreigners.

We still couldn't escape the debt trap.

In 1923, there was respect for doctors, my friend. Doctors were praised. Doctors were not beaten like they are in 2023.

There was respect for artists in 1923. And before that, too. During the War of Independence, a second lieutenant who drew pictures on a wall at the front was sent to Istanbul by Atatürk. He said, “We need artists after the war.”

We reached 2023, and art has been spat upon.

In 1923, we were among the most powerful in the world in foreign policy. We had brought the world to its knees.

We reached 2023, and we told Greece, which occupied our islands in the Aegean, “I might come suddenly one night,” we threatened them, but we went during the day. We told the Greek newspaper, “We meant others.” We made a mockery of the respected foreign policy of 1923 in 2023.

In 1923, we challenged the world, gained territory, and saved the great Turkey. By 2023, we gave away land in the Aegean. We didn't say a word about the occupation of the islands.

In 1923, foreign post offices in the country were closed. Before we even reached 2023, in 2005, our post offices and our Telecom were sold to foreigners.

Just 2 years after 1923, we saw the establishment of “Teyyare Otomobil ve Motor Türk A.Ş.” (TOMTAŞ) with the aim of manufacturing aircraft and engines in Turkey, but we could never see the plane we were supposedly going to produce in 2023.

In 1923, with Atatürk's suggestion, the “Karadeniz Ship Project” was launched, and the “Karadeniz Ship,” where Turkey's products were exhibited, was launched into the water; it visited 16 port cities in Europe in 86 days. This was a marketing miracle. It was a first in the world. Everyone was going to get to know Turkey through the “Karadeniz Ship,” but when we reached 2023, they knew it through the fuel ships it sent to Israel, which was bombing Gaza.

In 1923, we made breakthroughs in agriculture. We established model farms all over the country, especially in Ankara, Mersin, and Yalova. Thanks to this, almost all of the usable peasant labor force contributed to agricultural production; in 2023, we stopped agriculture. We dried up the country, sold the agricultural farms that would serve as examples to the peasants, and destroyed them.

In 1923, Turkey belonged to the Turks; there were only Turks on the streets. We reached 2023, and there is everyone but Turks on the streets. We have reached the point of asking, “Does Turkey belong to the Turks?”

In 1923, we received our identity at Lausanne; in 2023, we lost our identity.

Or rather, we lost ourselves...