Ataturk lies in Ankara, the capitol city, and is revered as the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey after WWI. (1881-1938) While he was a famous general, Ataturk was more an intellectual who managed to create a secular country after the collapse of the Ottoman empire and also defeat in WWI, including internal conflicts and tragedies. He turned westward and advocated education, a common language with a Romanized alphabet for use amongst many ethnicities in Turkey, equal rights, a separation of church (mosque) and state, and other significant changes.
