WELCOME TO ISTANBUL, founded more than 2,000 years before Christ, capital to three successive world empires. East is East and West is West and the twain meet here, on seven hills straddling the Bosphorus, which divides Europe from Asia.
        For 16 centuries, this was the capital city of Turkey. But that changed in 1923, at the command of one man.
        In that year, Atatürk, born Mustafa Kemal, led the War of Independence which established Turkish sovereignty. Atatürk separated Mosque and State, exiled the Sultan, proclaimed equal rights for women. He changed the nation's alphabet from Arabic to Latin, declared Ankara the nation's new capitol, and died of cirrhosis at 57. His reign was followed by democracy (1945), then by military coups which were labeled Revolutions – a nomenclature that fooled few Turks.
        But while politics come and go, Atatürk endures, his image as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola. Atatürk's countenance stares down from banners which cover whole sides of downtown highrises. His face appears on every denomination of his country's cash, from the 10 lira coin to the 5,000,000 lira bill (about $20, US). In every restaurant, every humble shop, every jeans outlet in every modern mall: everywhere, the photograph of Atatürk watches over his people.