Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introduces the new Turkish alphabet

In 1928, on Atatürk's orders, the Arabic script was replaced in Turkey by the new Turkish alphabet, which is based on the Latin script and comprises 29 letters. To introduce the new script, Atatürk personally traveled around Turkey in 1928 before the alphabet was made mandatory on January 1, 1929, after a three-month transition period. The aim of the reform was, among other things, to improve the literacy skills of the population, but also to promote ties with the West and strengthen Turkish national identity. In addition to the script, Persian and Arabic loan words were increasingly replaced by Old Turkic terms.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk introducing the new Turkish alphabet to the people of Kayseri, black-and-white photography, 1928, unknown photographer; source: Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atat%C3%BCrk#/media/File:Ataturk-September_20,_1928.jpg, public domain.