Atatürk Memorial

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Memorial to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of the Republic of Turkey. It is located on a ridge above Tarakena Bay on the south coast of Wellington.

The memorial looks out over Cook Strait and the site was chosen for its remarkable likeness to the landscape of the Gallipoli peninsula.
[source: NZ History]
Behind the Atatürk Memorial looking out to sea
The Memorial features a message of reconciliation that has been widely attributed to Atatürk, although its exact origin is disputed. The text is as follows:
Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side in this country of ours. You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosoms and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they become our sons as well.
166 Breaker Bay Road, Breaker Bay, Wellington 6022, New Zealand

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