Mustafa Kemal's first departure from the city where he was born and raised was when he went from Thessaloniki to Manastir Military High School. This departure also changed his environment. The military highs were like a kind of barracks. Students from all over the country were coming here. At that time, the city of Manastir was the centre of Macedonia and the Ottoman Balkans. The atmosphere that the empire was passing through could be felt here a lot and comfortably. There was a wealth of opinion among the students as well as educators with various beliefs and views.
The Turkish-Greek war of 1897 broke out while Mustafa Kemal was in Manastir. This war had swept the political atmosphere in the school more and more. During this time, Mustafa Kemal began to take an interest in literature as well as mathematics and military training. He started working on increasing the power of good speech and rhetoric. In addition to the relationship that he had with friends such as Salih Bozok and İsmail Hakkı Kavalalı, whom he knew from the Selanik Military Junior High School, the person who most influenced Mustafa Kemal at that time was Ömer Naci. Ömer Naci was a strict follower and a strong advocate of Namık Kemal, who was able to influence almost everyone at that time. Ömer Naci, who was very influenced by Namık Kemal's literature and who would be known as the "orator of the revolution" in the 1908 revolution and who helped Mustafa Kemal in the future, contributed a lot to Mustafa Kemal. But Mustafa Kemal was not a person of excessive excitement. He was a realistic person who made an effort to finish every job he started, knew what he wanted and was on the ground.
After a while, he started to correspond with his mother, with whom he was angry with while leaving Thessaloniki. During his time in military high school, he received sincere support and close attention from his stepfather Ragıp Bey. After a while, he started to spend his holidays in the home of his mother and stepfather. During his time with Ragıp, he realized that he was a good-natured, affectionate and respectable person. After that, a rapprochement was established between Mustafa Kemal and Ragıp Bey. Mustafa Kemal finished military high school in the summer of 1898. Now, he was a confident war school candidate who was interested in reading, cared about ideas and liked to think. As it should be, on March 13, 1899, Mustafa Kemal entered the Istanbul Military Warfare.
Here, while the thoughts and feelings of the necessity of homeland, freedom and will in the nation took the form, their opposing views were developing against the tyranny. During the years he stayed at the Military Academy, he was not only successful in his lessons, but also improved himself in the areas of eloquence and oratory.
During the period of tyranny, all books, newspapers and magazines were censored. It was not possible to speak about political, social and economic issues. These limitations and restrictions did not make sense for Mustafa Kemal. Even the absence and impossibilities stimulated his determination to learn and think.