Ataturk is a suitable candidate for the title "most mythologized person ever".
The first myth is that Ataturk was born in Solun to Turkish parents and his father was a low-ranking public servant. In fact he was born in Golo Burdo and his native language was not Turkish. He is famous for his great military achievements which were from enormous importance to Turkey but the Turks forget that despite being monocultural the Muslims in the Ottoman Empire were from different ethnic background. During the First Balkan War Ataturk fought against the Bulgarian army in present-day Turkish Thrace but after the war he was appointed as military attache in Sofia.
Stilian Kovachev, Bulgarian general from the First Balkan War, wrote in his memoirs how surprised was everybody when Kemal Mustafa arrived without his personal assistant, supposed to translate from Bulgarian to Turkish. The second surprise was that his appearance was 'a way' different from the classical Turkish. However, the biggest surprise came when he started speaking in Bulgarian.
Shortly after he fell in love with Dimitrina Kovacheva who was a daughter of gen. Stilian Kovachev. He loved her so deeply that asked her father for her hand. The answer was negative of course but Ataturk didn't give up. At the end he was so desperate that nearly adopted Orthodox faith. Soon began WWI and he was recalled to Turkey which he obviously considered as his country. That put an end to his romance. Several years later he became the well-known Turkish leader and father of the Turks...
The first myth is that Ataturk was born in Solun to Turkish parents and his father was a low-ranking public servant. In fact he was born in Golo Burdo and his native language was not Turkish. He is famous for his great military achievements which were from enormous importance to Turkey but the Turks forget that despite being monocultural the Muslims in the Ottoman Empire were from different ethnic background. During the First Balkan War Ataturk fought against the Bulgarian army in present-day Turkish Thrace but after the war he was appointed as military attache in Sofia.
Stilian Kovachev, Bulgarian general from the First Balkan War, wrote in his memoirs how surprised was everybody when Kemal Mustafa arrived without his personal assistant, supposed to translate from Bulgarian to Turkish. The second surprise was that his appearance was 'a way' different from the classical Turkish. However, the biggest surprise came when he started speaking in Bulgarian.
Shortly after he fell in love with Dimitrina Kovacheva who was a daughter of gen. Stilian Kovachev. He loved her so deeply that asked her father for her hand. The answer was negative of course but Ataturk didn't give up. At the end he was so desperate that nearly adopted Orthodox faith. Soon began WWI and he was recalled to Turkey which he obviously considered as his country. That put an end to his romance. Several years later he became the well-known Turkish leader and father of the Turks...
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