Probably there is a statue of Kemal Ataturk in each Turkish city and Mardin is not an exception. It might look strange though, considering the population here is predominantly Arabic and it's in Kurdistan, two factors potentially causing animosity against Ataturk.
Ataturk - by far the most important personality in Turkey and considered the founder of the modern Turkey - is represented in the main square of Old Mardin. Wearing civilian clothes (Ataturk was primarily a military) he's shown speaking to an imaginary crowd. The statue scale is slightly larger than real life but the most impressive element is the huge plinth. Its base has a few bas-relief elements depicting the glory of Ataturk projected in the success of Turkey: a strong army, peasants working with joy, and, finally, Mardin itself.
Ataturk's biography in Wikipedia: (
visit link)