Ataturk's Bulgarian Love

Ataturk left his heart in Bulgaria. The founding father of modern
Turkey asked for the hand of Dimitrina Kovacheva twice

Mustafa Kemal clad in the uniform with which he was dressed at the
ball of his meeting with Dimintrina
Everything in modern Turkey is connected with the name of Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) - the founder of the Turkish Republic and
its first president. There's hardly a place in the country without a
monument to this remarkable historical figure whose name actually
means "the father of the nation", because he is the one who shows his
country the way out of the darkness of feudalism and religious
fanaticism and turns it into a modern state.
A new documentary - a co-production of International Film Service
(Sofia) and TRT Turkish National TV - tells the story of Ataturk's
love for Bulgaria and a Bulgarian girl whose name was Dimitrina
Kovacheva.
On a foggy November day in 1913, Mustafa Kemal arrived in Bulgaria in
his capacity of a military attache. He was a tall, handsome and
communicative man with European manners. French magazines used to
describe him as one of the most charming and stylish men in the world
of diplomacy. Mustafa Kemal was fascinated by the cultural life in
Bulgaria.
Once, in a Sofia casino, he met a beautiful Bulgarian girl, Dimitrina
Kovacheva, the second daughter of General Stilyan Kovachev, former
Defense Minister of Bulgaria.
She had just returned from Switzerland where she had studied
literature and music. The girl often gave charity concerts and Kemal
Mustafa used to attend them with the greatest pleasure.
At a New Year's ball he invited her to dance and everybody admired
the wonderful couple. This was the beginning of a romantic love story.
Feeling sure that Dimitrina is the love of his life, Kemal Mustafa
was well aware of the obstacles before a possible marriage: he was 11
years older than her and had many enemies among the Young Turks in
his native country, who would have embittered their family life.
Nevertheless Mustafa Kemal decided to ask General Stilyan Kovachev
for his daughter's hand. Dimitrina's father was sure that she would
not accept the dogmas of a different religion. Mustafa Kemal was
deeply embittered, but went on meeting secretly with the girl.
Different political events separated them for a while, but in 1915
Ataturk proposed to his beloved for a second time and received a
second denial from her father. This time General Kovachev hurried to
marry Dimitrina to an engineer from the town of Rousse. Hearing the
news she fainted, then returned the man he loved the wedding ring he
had given her. She obeyed her father's will and separated with Kemal
whom she never forgot.
Lyudmila Parvanova