Mustafa Kemal also had a sword

Staff Captain Ahmet Tevfik was stationed in Thessaloniki.

A telegram arrived.

It was from Mustafa Kemal. But the telegram was intriguing. And these words were written on the telegram paper;

“Parti bateau grec” 

In the final days of April 1906, Mustafa Kemal had boarded a ship as a stowaway, disguised as a European tourist, to travel from Jaffa to Thessaloniki, arrived at the port of Piraeus, and sent this coded telegram to his friend Ahmet Tevfik.

These words in the telegram informed that Mustafa Kemal was departing from the Port of Piraeus for Thessaloniki by steamer. Ahmet Tevfik began to secretly monitor the Greek steamers arriving at the port of Thessaloniki. It did not take long. Finally, one day, the steamer on which Mustafa Kemal arrived anchored in the port of Thessaloniki. Ahmet Tevfik immediately approached the steamer by rowboat. As soon as he saw Mustafa Kemal, who had arrived in civilian clothes, they embraced. He took him into the rowboat. 

However, as the rowboat approached the shore, he became anxious. Because Mustafa Kemal had arrived as a stowaway. They would have to pass through three separate interrogations at the customs pier. These were Customs, Police, and Military Police interrogations. It was fine that he was his friend, but it was almost impossible for Ahmet Tevfik to get Mustafa Kemal through these interrogations. But Mustafa Kemal did not leave things to chance.

He had also sent a telegram to his friend Cemil Ubaydın, the deputy commander of the Thessaloniki Central Command, informing him that he would be arriving secretly and asking him to arrange his passage through customs. He had helped as well.

As soon as Mustafa Kemal stepped onto the pier, he asked Ahmet Tevfik about his old friend Ömer Naci. He asked him to come to him in the evening. 

Mustafa Kemal, who had set foot on Thessaloniki soil as a stowaway, went straight to his mother. That night, his mother Zübeyde Hanım, unaware of everything that had happened, was sitting in her house across from the Industrial School. The door knocked suddenly. Mother Zübeyde Hanım, unaware of her son and the events, and her daughter Makbule went down the stairs fearfully and headed to the door;

-Who is it, they asked. 

 -Open up, said Mustafa Kemal. “It’s me, Mustafa, Mustafa Kemal,” he said. 

The next day, Ömer Naci got up, got dressed, and arranged a report so that he could work comfortably in Thessaloniki. Then he met with Ömer Naci. And he gave him the following instruction;

-We will gather at Hakkı Baha’s house this evening...

That evening, Ömer Naci, Mustafa Necip, Hüsrev Sami, Ahmet Tevfik, and a few friends along with Mustafa Kemal gathered at Hüsrev Sami’s house. The meeting was secret. Conversations were held, tea and coffee were drunk. After a while, Mustafa Kemal, rising from his armchair, began to speak with dignity;

-Friends!

The purpose of gathering you here tonight is this; I do not see a need to tell you about the disasters our country is experiencing. You all know this. We have important duties toward this unfortunate country. Saving it is our greatest goal. The nation is being ruined under oppression and dictatorship. In a country without freedom, there is death and destruction. The mother of all progress and salvation is freedom. 

History today imposes certain duties upon us, its children. 

I founded a secret organization in Syria. We began the struggle against the dictatorship. I have come here to establish a branch of this association as well. For now, we must work in secret. I invite you to duty to respond to the dictatorship with revolution, to overthrow this outdated administration, to make the nation sovereign, and ultimately to save the homeland,” he said.

Everyone was listening to these determined and somewhat burning words with excitement. Mustafa Kemal was talking about the Nation and a revolution, as always, and talking about making the nation sovereign. The palace would be demolished, and the Nation would be the basis of the administration. 

Ömer Naci, who was listening to the speech, could not restrain his excitement and suddenly stood up; “Long live Freedom.

Long live the Revolution!” he shouted.

Captain Mustafa Necip, one of those present, was on the verge of tears from excitement.              

Everyone was of the same opinion. A revolution had to be made for the salvation of the country. Mustafa Kemal said that they would definitely succeed and that they would save the homeland and the nation in this way. He asked Hüsrev Bey to place his pistol on the table.

-Hüsrev, take out your pistol. Let us reinforce our decision with an oath.

Hüsrev Bey took out his Browning pistol and placed it on the table, and the friends there placed their hands on the pistol and took an oath for the sake of this sacred cause. They established the Thessaloniki branch of the ‘Homeland and Freedom’ association.

Mustafa Kemal began working in Thessaloniki. 

However, he was reported shortly after. “Mustafa Kemal Efendi from Thessaloniki has come as a stowaway from Damascus and is here,” they said, and reported him to the Palace. Mustafa Kemal made his preparations and returned to Beirut again through illegal routes. 

On July 15, 1906, he gathered his friends. He had this photo taken in Beirut. That day, they had a night to remember with his friends. They enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

With this photo he had taken, Mustafa Kemal was saying, “I am not in Thessaloniki, I am here,” as if he were showing proof to Istanbul.

Yet, Mustafa Kemal had secretly gone to Thessaloniki to lay the foundations of freedom against tyranny and to save the Turkish Nation from the predicament it was in, and had established a branch of the “Homeland and Freedom” association. However, when he realized he had been reported, he had secretly returned to his unit in Damascus again.

He did not neglect to send one of these pictures to his mother. And on July 19, 1906, he also sent one to his friend Ahmet Tevfik, who was serving in Thessaloniki.

And he also wrote a letter. In the letter, he wrote the following sentences regarding the future;

“As we are soldiers, I am content with showing the tips of our swords that point to distant horizons,” he said.

Ahmet Tevfik was among the most successful students at the Military School and the Military Academy. Together with Ali Fuat Cebesoy, he was one of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s closest friends.

What did Mustafa Kemal mean when he said “our swords that point to distant horizons” in the letter accompanying the picture? He was, of course, referring to the Republic of Turkey that would be established in place of the crumbling Ottoman Empire. 

Ahmet Tevfik had also come to Beirut on September 2, 1905, on leave or duty, had a photo taken with his friends, and had sent it to his friend Mustafa Kemal along with a letter. 

However, these letters were the last letters. Ahmet Tevfik died of tuberculosis at a young age in 1907.

It was unfortunately his last time seeing Mustafa Kemal in Thessaloniki, where he had gone as a stowaway.

He was a very young officer.

These young officers were idealistic.

They were excited. They were combative and brave. The nobility in the picture flowed from their swords. Moreover, they all possessed extraordinary intelligence. And they were all in love with the Turkish nation and their homeland. 

When looking carefully at the pictures, it is seen that the young officers highlight their swords.

They pose proudly by bringing them forward.

It is true, these officers made a revolution with these swords. But this revolution was for the sake of the salvation and establishment of the Turkish nation. These swords defeated the British, defeated the Greeks, defeated the French, and the Italians. They defeated the seven great powers at Gallipoli, but they could not defeat ignorance. They could not defeat betrayal.

But despite everything, those swords were born from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire and established its Republic. They gave birth to Mustafa Kemal.

They gave birth to Atatürk.

The War of Independence was won at the tips of these swords. The seats you sit on were won at the tips of these swords. 

It is quite natural for lieutenants to take this as an example. They graduated from the same class, the same row, the same school as Mustafa Kemal and his comrades-in-arms. They are Mustafa Kemal. They are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal.

Instead of being uncomfortable with this, on the contrary, one should be proud.