Note that older (1.0.x) versions of the Free Pascal compiler sources were effectively Turbo Pascal compatible (as in could be debugged with TP), which demonstrates basic Pascal capabilities.
The question of use of Pascal as a basic language is roughly the same as for C, since they are nearly equivalent on a language level. The only difference is the amount, versatily and quality of compilers.
I would strongly recommend to go in the direction of the Delphi dialect though (either using Delphi or Lazarus/FPC), and not go back to Turbo.
The DOS-isms and 16-bitisms would seriously limit you, and nearly the entire dialect that is free from DOS-isms and 16-bititms is supported by FPC or Delphi.
Turbo Pascal was one of the (if not THE) main compilers of the DOS era, and Delphi is still the second most sold IDE in the world (after visual studio), so I think the “dead language” and “teaching language” bits are a bit exaggerated.