THE MOVING HOUSE OR ATATÜRK HOUSE MUSEUM AND THE ALTERED MIND-SET OF YALOVA PROVINCE

Abstract

History of Turkish Republic contains exemplary endeavours of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who showed an admirable exertion to elevate the republic to standards of the contemporary civilisations following the proclamation of the republic. Amongst his endeavours, the wooden building, named as Yürüyen Köşk (The Moving House) by the locals in Yalova province, and the adjacent Ulu Çınar Ağacı (The Great Plane Tree) are of immense significance as indicators of Atatürk’s sensibility towards nature in environmental and museum studies. Conveying a message of love of nature not only to Turkish people but also the rest of the world, The Moving House, also known as Atatürk House Museum, demonstrates the exertion of a leader imbued with love of nature and people. Whilst executing his designs into nourishing the newly-found republic, Atatürk was also well aware of the significance of nature in every single territory that had been reclaimed during Turkish War of Independence. His decision to relocate the custom-built house exemplifies the extent of his respect for nature. By abstaining from cutting a bough of a tree at a time when issues such as ozone layer depletion, global warming, pollution, acid rains, destruction of forests, and changing climates were neither known nor mentioned, Atatürk’s conduct has set an example of love of nature for the entire humanity. The public’s support for environmental consciousness and the museum is blatantly reflected in record-breaking numbers of visitors since conversion of the house into a museum during the 1980s. The amount of interest and solicitude shown by the locals of Yalova Province is a proof of their ardour to safely hand down the token of Atatürk’s memory the future generations. This article will discuss amalgamation of the story of Atatürk’s environmental mind-set with the museum and its impact of Yalova Province.