Turkiye's centenary: Remembering Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s legacy

A statue of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the village of Yenice, Turkiye. Initially a junior officer in the Ottoman army from Thessaloniki, Greece, he rose to fame for his lead role in defeating Allied forces invading Anatolia during the War of Independence. Photos: dpa

Aziz Gundogdu is gardening in the backyard of his house in north-western Turkiye, humming a patriotic song about the soldiers lost at the Gallipoli front during World War I.

The 102-year-old resident of Doganca village in Kırklareli province, some 60km from Turkiye’s border with Bulgaria, is looking forward to witnessing the centennial of the Turkish Republic in just a few days.