REMOVE THIS CARPET
Mr. Salih Bozok, one of Atatürk's closest friends, describes
Atatürk's entry into Izmir after the Dumlupinar victory in his
memoirs:
I was on my way to Izmir to prepare the house where King
Constantine was staying for Atatürk. Gunfire could still be
heard on the roads. Everywhere was burned and destroyed. It was
a horrific sight... There were dead bodies and wounded people
left to fend for themselves on the roads... So hours passed, and
we arrived in Izmir. We first went down to the Government House.
There, we learned that King Constantine was staying in a house
in Karşıyaka. We took someone who knew the house with us and
went to Karşıyaka. They were throwing flowers and cologne at us.
It was as if we had won the victory. We told those who welcomed
us in Karşıyaka:
-We are looking for the house where
King Constantine was staying," we explained and explained our
purpose. They told us:
-Don't worry, we've prepared everything!
They said.
Indeed, it was.
They showed us the house. They had even spread a carpet in front
of it. It had a picture of King Constantine on it. When had this
carpet been woven? We were astonished. Mustafa Kemal would come
here and enter the house stepping on the carpet with King
Constantine's picture on it. Would Mustafa Kemal Pasha do such a
thing? I wondered.
Everything was so perfect that I had a feeling of doubt. Mustafa
Kemal Pasha might be angry with me. The carpet was always on my
mind. I couldn't have it removed. Because that's what the people
of Karşıyaka wanted. I knew Mustafa Kemal Pasha. He would
definitely not do such a thing. Even when he spoke to the
captured Greek Generals, I was so careful not to hurt their
pride. When we saw that everything was in order, we decided to
return to Nif to inform Mustafa Kemal Pasha. On the way, we saw
civilian and military bands and asked:
- What are you waiting for?...
- Nothing?... We saw what we had to see!
When we received the answer, we understood that Mustafa Kemal Pasha
could not wait any longer and had set off for Izmir. So, we didn't go to
Nif and returned to Izmir. We found Mustafa Kemal Pasha at the
government building. The cannon fire was still ringing in Izmir. We
investigated the reason and learned the following:
When the enemy's two regiments in Söke fled and learned that Izmir had
been liberated by the Turks, they fought and engaged in a major battle
near Seydiköy. But this battle would last an hour or two, and the
surprised enemy would surrender to our troops.
After meeting with Mustafa Kemal Pasha, I told him everything was ready.
He would stay in the house where King Constantine was staying in Izmir.
My suspicions were proven right. As Mustafa Kemal Pasha entered the
house, he saw the king's portrait on the carpet, stopped, and said,
-Remove this carpet!
He didn't have a single grain of malice in him.
He only stayed in Karşıyaka for a day. He didn't like the smell of the
sea. He was shown many mansions and chalets in Izmir to stay in.
After visiting them all, he chose to stay at a doctor's house in Kordon.