Turkish

If peace is achieved between the east and west, Turkey may be an important part of the reason.

Turkish is the 15th most widely spoken language in the world according to some lists. The first translation below is the one that is on most peace poles.

However, this second translation was created by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

It is the motto of the Republic of Turkey and means "Peace at Home, Peace in the World."

Both translations are available for your peace pole. If you do not specifiy one, I will use the second because of its author.

The Turkish language is written in the English (AKA Latin) alphabet because of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He was the military leader and political visionary who changed the world in the first half of the 20th Century. First, as a military leader, he drove the occupiers out of Turkey. Then he ended six centuries of Ottoman dynasty rule and made Turkey a republic, in 1923, by creating a representative government responsive to the nation's will. He also introduced a broad range of reforms in the political, social, legal, economic, and cultural spheres that were so dramatic and sweeping that their breadth and speed may never have been equaled in any other country. 

One of his reforms was the alphabet. He saw how much higher the literacy rate was in countries using the English alphabet, rather than the much more difficult-to-learn symbols normal in Arabic languages, and adopted the English alphabet for Turkey. In the end, Turkey became an Arab country that understands western cultures. 

Besides being a geographic crossroad for Europe and Asia, it also is a cultural, political and social crossroad. Whatever harmony and understanding may grow between the West and the East could have important roots in the reforms made by Atatürk, which used to warm our hearts when using his translation.

But now Turkey has been taken over by a strong-man. He has muzzled the news media, sent opponents to jail or exile, and purged the government bureaucracy of those who do not agree with his rule. Turkey's time as a republic might be ending. 

Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish political columnist, said that whether Erdogan gains more power or not, “I am afraid Turkey will have difficult years ahead. . . We should all think of ways to minimize the damage and keep up hope.”

Now using Kemal's translation is an expression of hope.