The View from the Bridge - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 13

Ottoman Empire amongst themselves. Turkey was saved only by the
heroic eforts of its people, who fought to preserve their homeland
when it was invaded by the Greeks in 1919.
Their leader in this War of Independence, which was finally won
by Turkey in 1922, was Mustafa Kemal Paşa, later to be known as
Atatürk, the Father of the Turks. Even before the conclusion of the
war, Atatürk and his associates had laid the foundations of the new
republic which would arise out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.
The Sultanate was abolished in 1922 and on 29 October of the
following year the Republic of Turkey was formally established, with
Kemal Atatürk as its first President. During the remaining 15 years
of his life Atatürk guided his countrymen to a more modern and
western way of life, a process which still continues in Turkey today.
Kemal Atatürk died on 10 November 1938, profoundly mourned
by his people then and revered by them still as the father of their
country.
At the time of the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923,
the Anatolian city of Ankara was chosen as the capital and the seat
of parliament. Soon afterwards the embassies of the great European
powers packed up and moved to new quarters in Ankara, leaving
their old mansions along the Grand Rue de Pera in Istanbul. And so,
for the first time in 16 centuries, Istanbul was no longer the capital of
an empire. Now, more than eight decades later, history would seem
to have passed Istanbul by, and no longer do wealthy and powerful
emperors adorn her with splendid buildings. The old town is now
running down at the heels, some say, living on her memories. But
what memories they are!
Many monuments of the city's imperial past can be seen from the
Galata Bridge, particularly those which stand on the six hills along the
Golden Horn. On the First Hill, the ancient acropolis of Byzantium,
we see the gardens and pavilions of Topkapı Sarayı and the great
dome of Haghia Sophia, framed by its four minarets. The
most prominent monument on the Second Hill is the baroque
Nuruosmaniye Camii, while the Third Hill is crowned by the
Süleymaniye, surrounded by the clustering domes of its pious
foundations. On the foreshore between these two hills we see Yeni