An article in today's Echo explains that...
The fez has been a controversial issue ever since wearing them was banned by the founder of modern Turkey, Kamal Ataturk, in 1925.
In the years immediately after the ban, those people who chose to defy Ataturk's edict were subjected to harsh treatment by the Turkish police and military.
Since then, Turks have been divided between those who view the fez as harmless headwear and those who view it as an affront to their revered former leader.