Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, spent his final days battling illness while managing state affairs at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, where he died on November 10, 1938, at 9:05 AM. His close aide Afet Inan later recounted those poignant weeks, revealing a leader who worked tirelessly on the Hatay issue even as his health failed. The nation held its breath as the man who shaped a republic slipped away, leaving a legacy that still stirs deep emotion.
The short version
In 1938, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk fell gravely ill at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, yet continued to oversee state matters, particularly the Hatay dispute, until he entered a coma in early November and died on November 10 at 9:05 AM. Afet Inan, a close confidante, documented his final weeks.
- Ataturk was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in early 1938, which worsened over the year.
- He remained at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul from mid-1938 until his death.
- Despite his illness, Ataturk worked on the Hatay issue, a territorial dispute with France, until October 1938.
- He fell into a terminal coma on November 8, 1938, and died two days later at 9:05 AM.
- Afet Inan, his adopted daughter and historian, recorded his final days in a personal account.
The Blue Ceiling and the Walnut Bed: A Room in Waiting
By the late summer of 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's bedroom in Dolmabahçe Palace had become a quiet, watchful space. The room faced the sea, its blue ceiling painted with gold stars of varying sizes. A carved walnut bed stood against the wall, with a commode beside it and a chaise longue at the foot. Across from the bed, a wide crystal mirror cabinet reflected the light from the shuttered windows. Furniture upholstered in blue Hereke fabric lined the paned windows overlooking the Bosphorus. In one corner sat a cushioned sofa with a radio upon it. A logbook was kept in the adjacent pink salon, recording each day's health condition and the duration of every visitor's stay, following doctors' strict orders to prevent fatigue.
Afet İnan, Atatürk's adopted daughter, spent her days reading newspapers and books aloud, summarizing them to spare his strength. She would pause a story partway through, promising to finish it another day. Despite his illness, Atatürk remained deeply engaged with the world. When briefed on political and military developments, he would voice his concerns about global peace. According to the original account, he warned that a war was coming, and indeed, World War II erupted less than a year after his death in 1938. The Hatay issue, which had consumed his attention, was resolved that September, bringing him profound joy.
One day, Prime Minister Celal Bayar visited to discuss the second five-year economic plan. Dr. Neşet Ömer İrdelp asked Afet İnan to intervene, worried Atatürk was overexerting himself. When she entered the room, Atatürk was sitting up in bed, listening intently. He told her, "Sit down and listen too." When she tried to suggest a break, he responded firmly: "I know the doctors recommend rest. But we are discussing the most important state affairs. These do not tire me, they give me life." He insisted she stay until the end. After Bayar left, Atatürk spoke at length about the need for economic strength in a world heading toward war.
On the night of September 26, 1938, Atatürk listened to the radio broadcast of the Dil Kurumu Bayramı (Language Institute Festival) and gave orders to be relayed. The delay in execution frustrated him, and that night he experienced his first mild coma. The next morning, he described a dream about a revolutionary committee in Selanik (Thessaloniki) and said, "Tell Salih, we both fell into a well, but he was saved."
As October wore on, his condition worsened. He longed to be in Ankara for the 15th anniversary of the Republic on October 29, but was too ill to travel. On October 22, he suffered a severe coma that lasted until October 25, leaving him weaker than before. The shutters stayed closed; he no longer wanted to see the sea he loved. Yet on the anniversary day, he watched the youth parade from his window, responding with his eyes. On November 6, a Sunday, he tried to sit up, said he felt better, and let Afet İnan kiss his hand, the last time she would do so. The next day, a paracentesis drained fluid from his abdomen. On the afternoon of November 8, he entered a terminal coma and never regained consciousness. At 9:05 AM on November 10, 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died, leaving behind a nation in mourning and a room frozen in time.
A Leader Who Would Not Rest: Work as Lifeblood
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, even in the autumn of 1938 as his body failed him, refused to surrender to stillness. His adopted daughter, Afet İnan, who spent his final days by his side, saw this firsthand. Every day, she would read the newspapers and books aloud to him, carefully summarizing the content to spare his strength. But Atatürk's mind was never idle. He would listen intently, then voice his concerns about the world's fragile peace, predicting a devastating war that did, in fact, erupt as World War II just one year after his death in 1938.
The political issue that consumed him most during this time was the fate of Hatay. When its resolution finally came in September 1938, it brought him a deep, visible joy that cut through the haze of his illness. Even as his condition worsened and his doctors insisted on absolute rest, he could not stop engaging with the nation's affairs. One afternoon, Prime Minister Celal Bayar arrived at Dolmabahçe Palace to discuss the details of the second five-year economic plan. The meeting stretched on, and Dr. Neşet Ömer İrdelp grew worried. He found Afet İnan and asked her to intervene, urging Atatürk to rest.
She walked into the room to find Atatürk sitting up in bed, fully engaged. "Sit down and listen too," he told her. When she tried to gently suggest a break, the man before her was no passive patient. "I know the doctors are recommending rest again," he said firmly. "But we are discussing the most vital affairs of the country. These things don't tire me, they give me life. Sit down and listen until the end." Afet İnan felt a pang of regret for even suggesting he stop. When Bayar finally left, Atatürk was calm and satisfied. He turned to her and spoke at length about the world situation. "In this era, as the world marches toward war," he said, "we must become much stronger economically." That day, he seemed to see the government's plans already complete, a vision of strength that would define his nation's path long after his own Ataturk final days had passed.
The First Coma and a Dream of Selanik
On the night of 26 September 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's body gave him the first real warning that his final days had begun. That evening, he had been listening to the radio broadcast of the Dil Kurumu Bayramı, the Turkish Language Association festival, and had given orders for his own message to be delivered there. When his instructions were delayed, he grew agitated. That night, for the first time, he slipped into a mild coma.
When he woke the next morning, he did not speak of pain or fear. Instead, he described a dream so vivid it seemed to pull him back decades into his past. The scene was Selanik, the city of his birth, and the dream was a revolutionary committee meeting, the kind of secret, dangerous gathering where young men plotted to save a crumbling empire. In the dream, he and his old comrade Salih had fallen into a deep well. But only Salih was pulled out.
Looking at those beside his bed, Atatürk said quietly, "Tell Salih, we both fell into a well, but he was saved." The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. For a man who had spent his life shaping history, this dream felt less like a memory and more like a premonition, a haunting glimpse of a fate he could not outrun.
The 15th Anniversary of the Republic: Watching from a Window
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, desperately wanted to be in Ankara on 29 October 1938 for the fifteenth anniversary of the Republic he had established in 1923, but his failing body simply would not allow it. He spent the day in his bedroom at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, watching the youth celebrations from his window, a poignant and heartbreaking scene for everyone who witnessed it.
In the weeks before, even as his cirrhosis worsened, Atatürk had worked on a speech for the occasion. He reviewed government notes and made additions, still trying to shape the future from his sickbed. But the severe three-day coma that began on 22 October 1938 had drained him. After that ordeal, he was weaker than before, forced to stay in bed. The blue ceiling with gold stars of his room felt like a cage. He no longer wanted to see the sea he loved so much; the shutters stayed closed most of the time.
On the morning of 29 October, the city of Istanbul was alive with preparations. From the palace, one could see the spectacular water and light displays at Sarayburnu. Atatürk sat in an armchair placed before the window, watching the passionate demonstrations of the youth as they passed by the palace on boats. He responded with his eyes, his only way to communicate his feelings. Afet İnan, who was by his side, noted that his forehead movements revealed his deep and varied thoughts. It was a day of quiet but profound suffering, the most sorrowful memory she carried from those final months. The physical and spiritual pain of a man who had built a nation, now unable to stand for its celebration, was a tragic sight.
The Final Days: November 1938
On Sunday, 6 November 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, gathered the last of his strength. He tried to sit up in his walnut bed at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, telling his adopted daughter Afet İnan, "Yes, I am better, and I will get better." He extended his hand, and she kissed it one final time. That was the last moment of tenderness between them.
The following day, Monday, 7 November 1938, doctors performed a paracentesis. They drained fluid from his abdomen, a clinical procedure that offered only temporary relief. The man who had built a nation from the ashes of an empire was now fighting a losing battle against cirrhosis of the liver.
By the afternoon of Tuesday, 8 November 1938, Atatürk slipped into a terminal coma. He never woke up. The man who had once commanded armies, who had stared down empires and reshaped a civilization, lay silent in that room with the blue ceiling painted with gold stars. The Hereke fabric on the furniture, the crystal mirror cabinet, the chaise longue where he had rested, all of it became the backdrop to a nation holding its breath.
On 10 November 1938, at 9:05 AM, Atatürk died. The clock stopped for Turkey. The logbook that Afet İnan had kept in the pink salon, recording his daily health and every visitor's duration, would never be filled again. The radio in the corner, which had carried his orders during the Language Festival just weeks earlier, fell silent.
Those final days of November 1938 distilled the essence of Atatürk's life: even as his body failed, his mind remained sharp. He had talked of world peace, worried about an approaching war, and discussed the Hatay issue with satisfaction. But now, the man who had said "discussing state affairs gives me life" could no longer speak. The Atatürk final days were a quiet, heartbreaking fade, witnessed by a handful of loyal friends and a devoted daughter who recorded every detail for history.
Contrary to some accounts that suggest a sudden decline, the reality was a slow, clinical erosion. The paracentesis on 7 November was a desperate measure. The coma on 8 November was the body's final surrender. And at 9:05 AM on 10 November 1938, the heart of a nation stopped beating.
The Letter from the Savarona: Ataturk's Own Words on His Illness
On June 14, 1938, Ataturk wrote a startlingly clear-eyed letter from the Savarona yacht, anchored off Istanbul, to his adopted daughter Afet Inan. He cut through the official silence with blunt frustration: doctors' mistakes had let his illness advance unchecked, and a specialist named Dr. Fissenger had been brought in without the government's approval. His liver remained unchanged, he reported, but his abdomen was swollen with fluid and gas. The new treatment plan demanded absolute rest until July 15, 1938.
The letter reveals a man still in command of his own narrative. Ataturk described how premature standing and walking, along with vomiting after a nasal procedure, had undone any benefit from earlier rest. Now he was confined to bed and a chaise longue, the yacht his floating hospital room. Yet he insisted his general condition was good, and he promised a full recovery, words meant more to reassure Afet than to reflect reality.
Even from the Savarona, state business churned on. Ataturk noted that the Prime Minister and other ministers frequently came aboard as guests, conducting affairs of the nation at his bedside. Interior Minister Sukru Kaya was busy translating one of Ataturk's speeches into Turkish for publication. The leader's final days were never idle; they were a relentless grind of duty against a failing body.
FAQ: What Were Ataturk's Final Days Like at Dolmabahce Palace?
Ataturk's final days at Dolmabahce Palace were a quiet battle between his fading body and his unyielding spirit. From late summer 1938 until his death on 10 November 1938, he received visitors, discussed state affairs, and even drafted a Republic Day speech from his bed, all while doctors monitored a logbook in the pink salon to ensure he did not overexert himself.
How did Ataturk continue working despite his illness in 1938?
Despite his illness, Ataturk insisted on working from his bed at Dolmabahce Palace in 1938. He met with Prime Minister Celal Bayar to discuss the second five-year economic plan, reviewed government notes, and dictated additions to his Republic Day speech, telling his doctor that discussing state affairs gave him life.
Why was the Hatay issue important to Ataturk in his last months?
The Hatay issue was a source of great joy for Ataturk in his final months of 1938. The resolution of this diplomatic matter, which secured the region's connection to Turkey, was the political event that most occupied his thoughts and gave him genuine satisfaction as he lay ill in Dolmabahce Palace.
What did Ataturk dream about during his first coma in September 1938?
On the night of 26 September 1938, after listening to the radio for the Dil Kurumu Bayramı, Ataturk experienced his first mild coma. Upon waking, he described a dream about a revolutionary committee in Selanik and said, "Tell Salih, we both fell into a well, but he was saved."
How did Ataturk celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Republic while ill?
Ataturk strongly wished to be in Ankara for the 15th anniversary of the Republic on 29 October 1938, but his illness kept him at Dolmabahce Palace. From his chair at the window, he watched the youth parade pass by the palace, responding with his eyes to their enthusiastic demonstrations.
What did Ataturk write in his June 1938 letter to Afet Inan?
In a letter dated 14 June 1938 from the Savarona Yacht, Ataturk wrote to Afet Inan that doctors' mistakes had allowed his illness to progress. He noted his liver was unchanged, his abdomen was swollen with fluid and gas, and a new treatment plan required absolute rest until 15 July 1938.
When and where did Ataturk die?
Ataturk died at Dolmabahce Palace on 10 November 1938 at 9:05 AM. He entered a terminal coma on the afternoon of 8 November 1938 and never regained consciousness, passing away after a final paracentesis on 7 November to drain fluid from his abdomen.
Editor's note: Some details in this narrative rely on personal recollections that remain unconfirmed by independent sources.
By the editorial staff
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