Several days after the death of Ulku Adatepe, the spiritual daughter of the Rep. of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the rumors have intensified in the country that Ataturk was actually either Armenian or Kurdish.  

To note, Adatepe had informed in 2007—and during an evening reception devoted to Turkey’s Republic Day—that Ataturk was actually born in Malatya, Turkey, and was taken to Thessaloniki, Greece, much later.   

Radikal daily of Turkey reflected on this story in its front page and also recalled that Ataturk’s spiritual daughter, who lost her life in a traffic accident on August 1, used to visit Malatya twice a year. And it was in Malatya that Adatepe had announced that Ataturk was from this city and had moved to Thessaloniki, claiming to have heard this at Ataturk’s home.     

These claims became more intense when writer Fatih Bayhan stated that he is working on his book entitled “Ataturk’s Great Secret,” ever since 1997, where there will be important information.

And the social websites primarily focus on the view that Ataturk was either Armenian or Kurdish, since these two peoples used to form majority in Malatya.  

By Artur Hakobyan