Culture and the Arts

"We shall make the expansion and rise of Turkish culture in every era the mainstay of the Republic."

    Ataturk once stated: "Culture is the foundation of the Turkish Republic". His view of culture included both his own nation's creative legacy and what he saw as the more admirable values of world civilization, and he put an emphasis on humanism above all. He once described modern Turkey's ideological thrust as "a creation of patriotism blended with a lofty humanist ideal".

To assist in the creation of such a synthesis, Ataturk stressed the need to utilize the elements of the national heritage of the Turks and of Anatolia, including its ancient indigenous cultures as well as the arts and techniques of other world civilizations, both past and present. He emphasized the study of earlier civilizations, foremost of which being the Sumerians, later founding a SumerBank in Turkey, as well as other Anatolian civilizations such as the Hittites, Phrygians, and Lydians. The pre-Islamic culture of the Turks became the subject of extensive research, and particular emphasis was laid upon the fact that, long before the Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations, the Turks had had a rich culture. Ataturk also stressed the folk arts of the countryside as a wellspring of Turkish creativity.

    The visual and the plastic arts, whose development had on occasion been arrested by some Ottoman officials claiming that the depiction of the human form was idolatry, were highly encouraged and supported by Ataturk, and these flourished in the new Turkish republic. Many museums were opened; architecture began to follow modern trends; and classical Western music, opera, and ballet, as well as the theatre, also took greater hold. Several hundred "People's Houses" and "People's Rooms" across the country allowed greater access to a wide variety of artistic activities, sports, and other cultural events. Book and magazine publications increased as well, and the film industry began to grow.