At-a-boy Ataturk

TODAY it was goodbye Istanbul and hello Ankara, with several hours of driving in between to get from Turkey's largest city to the capital.

When our little group of travellers arrived in Ankara this afternoon we headed straight to Ataturk's mausoleum to pay our respects to Turkey's greatest citizen and the country's first president.

Ataturk final resting place is in a grand structure on the very top of a hill in the heart of Ankara, with a museum in the basement and a vast parade ground flanked by arcades that frame views of the city below.

His full name was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and it seems his parents only gave him one name, the first one, with the other two added later.

First his primary teacher, who was also named Mustafa, allocated Kemal - which means perfect - to avoid confusion when he was a little tacker and it was chosen to reflect the bright young man's personality.

The Turkish government gave him Ataturk, or "father of Turkey", in 1934 and made it illegal for anyone else to use that title.

Our stop at Ataturk's mausoleum coincided with the visit of two ambassadors - new diplomats must visit the compound and pay their respects to the big man when they arrive at the new post - so we got to see the military guards all dressed up and standing at attention.

It had been raining all morning but the clouds parted and a watery sun shone down on the sailors and soldiers as they stood straight and tall with shiny guns in their hands and big red Turkish flags on their uniforms.

- Posted from my iPad

Location:Kırkpınar Sk,Ankara,Turkey