The letters between Atatürk and his foster brother have surfaced for the first time! Here are those lines.

The letters exchanged between the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his foster sister Saime Hanım in 1916 have emerged in an article without disrupting the current HTML.

Published in the latest issue of "Belleten" magazine, which was given its name by Atatürk himself and started its publication in 1937, the article titled "Correspondence between Mustafa Kemal Pasha and His Foster Sister Saime Hanım" sheds light on a brief period of Atatürk's life, based on the documents from the Presidency State Archives and the Turkish Historical Society.

Many studies have been conducted by domestic and foreign researchers on Atatürk's life. These studies were based on the accounts of Mustafa Kemal Pasha's mother Zübeyde Hanım, his sister Makbule Hanım, and close witnesses, as well as documents. In contrast to these studies, the article documents that Mustafa Kemal Pasha received a letter dated July 15, 1916, with the signature "Your Milk Nurse Saime" from Çengelköy, Istanbul, while he was in Silvan, Diyarbakır, as the Commander of the 16th Corps attached to the 2nd Army, and responded to this letter with a letter starting with the address "My Nurse Lady" on October 26, 1916.

"MY FATHER USED A NURSE NAMED ÜMMÜGÜL..."

Information about Atatürk's foster mother is mentioned in the book "Atatürk's Life" published by Enver Behnan Şapolyo, a journalist from the Republican era, in 1955, based on his interview with Makbule Hanım. According to the information about Atatürk's infancy mentioned in the article, Makbule Hanım tells Şapolyo the following: "...When my brother Mustafa was born, my father Ali Rıza Bey brought a sword and placed it on his cradle, and he also hired a nurse named Ümmügül because my mother had little milk."

THE FIRST CORRESPONDENCE IN 1916

The article emphasizes that the presence of Atatürk's foster mother became clear with the emergence of his foster sister. Colonel Mustafa Kemal, who was appointed as the Commander of the 16th Corps in August 1915, left Edirne on March 11, 1916, arrived in Aleppo on March 19, reached Diyarbakır, where the Corps would gather, on March 27, and established his headquarters in Silvan on April 16.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who was promoted to the rank of "Mirliva/Brigadier General" on April 1, 1916, received a two-page letter dated July 15, 1916, with the signature "Your Milk Nurse Saime" and the address "My Dear Brother" while he was in Silvan. According to the expressions in the letter, the purpose of Saime Hanım writing the letter was to convey the request for the protection of her husband, who volunteered to join the army. In her letter, Saime Hanım mentions the health conditions of her mother and father and expresses their sadness due to not being able to meet Mustafa Kemal Pasha for a long time.

RESPONSE FROM ATATÜRK TO HIS FOSTER SISTER

Mustafa Kemal Pasha responded to this letter with a letter dated October 26, 1916, starting with the address "My Nurse Lady" from Silvan. According to Mustafa Kemal Pasha's expression in the letter, it is understood that the two foster siblings met in Thessaloniki between January 13 and February 11, 1899, and did not communicate again until 1916. In response to Saime Hanım's request for a photo from Mustafa Kemal Pasha, he says in his letter: "It would be an honor for me to present you with a photograph as you wish. However, I don't have it with me, and it is not possible to get it here for now. But I think I have some photos at my mother's and nurse's residence at 76 Akaretler, Beşiktaş. I send my regards to you and your children."

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF CORRESPONDENCE AFTER 1916

According to the expressions in Saime Hanım's letter, it is understood that she was an educated woman and sent her children to prominent schools of the time. Although there is no information or document indicating that Saime Hanım and Mustafa Kemal Pasha met after their correspondence in 1916, it is among the predictions of the article that they reestablished contact. According to the information in Dr. Ali Güler's book "My Family," which is referenced in the article, it can be seen that Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who provided financial assistance to his family members and close circle, gave 100 liras to his foster sister Saime Hanım in 1923. Based on the available documents, it is seen in the article that the interaction between the foster siblings was limited to this, and there is no information or record of them meeting or communicating between 1923 and Atatürk's death.