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The founder of the Turkish Republic was phenomenal. After the first world war he almost single handedly formed a country that had a constitution that allowed the women the vote, way before France or the USA.  He shut down the schools for four years to stop the religious teachings and back lash against democratic reform until the country was free and schools could reopen.  He then adopted three girls and one became a pilot, one a doctor, and one a lawyer.  He drank and smoked and enjoyed living so that must have made a mark on his thinking.   Ankara is mostly new, the downtown has high rise government buildings along with freeways and the fast pace that we are used to.