
An artificial rock sculpture of Ataturk on the side of a hill in Boca, Izmir, western Turkey.

A wax sculpture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk at his former house (now a museum) in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first President of the Turkish republic, modernised and westernised the country. On 29 October 1923 he declared Turkey to be a secular republic, based on the separation of the powers of state and religion. The adoration of Atatürk as the heroic nation-builder of Turkey is still alive, yet fading slowly because of a growing islamisation.
This series depicts how legendary Atatürk is worshipped in today's Turkey.

Atatürk's portrait is stitched into the tie of a man at a CHP meeting in Izmir, Turkey.

A tattoo of Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's signature, on the hand of a CHP supporter waiting to greet presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in İstanbul, Turkey

A sculptor cleans a freshly moulded statue of Ataturk which will be placed in a school playground, blowing high pressure air on it to remove dust. Istanbul, Turkey.

Men ask for selfies with Atatürk impersonator Göksal Kaya on a street in Izmir, Turkey

A statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the historic peninsular of Istanbul, near Topkapi Palace

The silhouette of Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, on the side of a hill in 'Atatürk village', on Turkey's border with Georgia. The silhouette shadow appears for a month each year and attracts visitors from across Turkey and abroad.

Göksal Kaya, (left) works professionally as an Atatürk lookalike. Here he cleans the trousers of a wax sculpture of Atatürk at an Atatürk museum in Izmir, Turkey

A portrait of Atatürk, which illuminates at night, above the Black Sea town of Amasra.

A portrait of Atatürk (L) and Turkish President Erdoğan (R)hang next to a Turkish flag in Erdoğan's former football club in Kasimpasa, Istanbul.

Atatürk's military portrait hangs in below a TV playing football in one of Kadikoy's many bar streets, Istanbul.

An artist with a drawing of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk next to him. Karaköy port, Istanbul, Turkey

Carpets bearing Atatürk's face hang between Imam Hussein, Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, Ché Guevara and the Virgin Mary. Harbiye, Hatay, Turkey.

Ataturk's portrait joins those of wrestlers and other figures in a cafe in Istanbul's Balat neighbourhood.

A bust of Atatürk remains standing amongst the damaged ruins of a school in Antakya, Hatay province, which was struck by several large earthquakes since the 6th of February 2023

A portrait of Atatürk hanging on a mosque wall, Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey.

Busts and imagery of Atatürk crowded amongst other religious and political iconography, in a shop in Galata, Istanbul

An image of Atatürk hangs in a window in Kadikoy, Istanbul

Atatürk's profile drawn on a wall behind flower sellers at the Kadiköy port, Istanbul, Turkey.

Flags for sale in Sirkeci, Istanbul, showing Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (back row) and current Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (front row).

A drawing of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on restoration hoarding, Istiklal street, Istanbul, Turkey.

Men ask for selfies with Atatürk impersonator Göksal Kaya (right) at a commemoration of Atatürk's death in Maltepe, Istanbul, Turkey.

Göksal Kaya, Turkey's primary Atatürk lookalike, in his home city of Izmir. Mr. Kaya appears regularly in films, television productions, and at public events around Turkey and Europe.

A fish restaurant in Istanbul's Kadikoy neighbourhood with a wall devoted to Atatürk images.

A statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the historic peninsular of Istanbul, near Topkapi Palace

A graffiti image of Atatürk with a spray painted frame on the walls of a bakery in Yeldeğirmeni, Kadıköy, İstanbul, Turkey

A framed portrait of Atatürk in an antique shop in Istanbul, Turkey.

One of several traditional fish - raki restaurants in Istanbul's Asian side neighbourhood of Kadikoy, decked out in images of Atatürk.

A statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the seafront, surrounded by waves and soldiers to mark independence of the Turkish Republic. Atatürk is pointing to the city of Izmir, in western Turkey.

A moulded bust of Atatürk's face. Istanbul, Turkey.

A mosaic of Atatürk in the southern Turkish city of Antakya, Hatay province.

A large statue of Atatürk above the entrance of a restaurant in Acibadem, Istanbul

