Bereaved Turkish mothers gathered yesterday on the promenade of the small port town of Mudanya for the start of the trial of the Kurdish rebel leader, Mr Abdullah Ocalan, sure to revive painful memories of a 14-year guerrilla conflict.
Bearing ornately framed photographs of their dead sons in military uniform, a small group of headscarved women stood in memory of the "martyrs" of Turkey's conflict with Mr Ocalan's rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Around a headland, out in the Sea of Marmara, lies the Imrali prison island where Mr Ocalan's trial for treason is to start today amid rigid security. He faces the death penalty.
For many in Turkey the verdict is clear.
"Ocalan is a baby killer," read signs driven into the grass of a sunny seaside park. There are English and German versions for the benefit of western Europe, closely watching the trial.
"Damn Ocalan", says another, splashed with red paint.
A group of young boys in shorts runs past in the sun, chanting "Imrali will be Apo's grave".
Mr Ocalan, known as "Apo", is accused of ordering the killings of troops, state-employed teachers, and civilians in the PKK's campaign for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-east.
More than 29,000 troops, rebels, civilians and members of the security forces have died. Relatives of soldiers killed in the conflict are accommodated free of charge in Mudanya and the nearby city of Bursa, Anatolian news agency said.
Angry and shouting parents waving framed photographs of their dead sons surrounded an Ankara courtroom holding a preliminary hearing earlier this month. Some of them will be allowed through a rigid security cordon surrounding Imrali island to watch the trial.
Mr Ocalan's defence lawyers say he will seek to present himself as a legitimate political figure, offering a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict.
But such arguments will cut little ice in Turkey.
"This man who has killed nearly 40,000 of our people and forced tens of thousands to leave their homes is a monster. I can find no other word to describe him," wrote Emin Colasan in the populist Hurriyet newspaper.
Newspapers yesterday reprinted the list of the crimes which state prosecutors say warrant the death penalty for Mr Ocalan. Turkey has not executed a convict since 1984 but retains the death penalty on its statute books.
The tabloid Star daily showed a picture of a packed stadium. "This is how many people Apo has killed," it said.
Although Turkey holds Mr Ocalan ultimately responsible for all the deaths in the conflict, official figures show that rebel losses have been heavier than those of the security forces.