Turkey continuing to restore Ottoman history in Hungary

By Mehmet Yilmaz

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AA) – The Turkish state aid agency is working to unearth and restore the historical heritage of the Ottoman Empire in Hungary, said an agency official on Saturday.

Archeological work is ongoing in Szigetvar, southern Hungary, where some of the remains of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent are thought to be buried, Suleyman Kiziltoprak, the Turkish Coordination and Cooperation Agency’s (TIKA) coordinator in Hungary, told Anadolu Agency.

TIKA is also maintaining to restore the historic mausoleum in the capital Budapest of Gul Baba, a famed Ottoman warrior and poet, he added.

Mentioning that TIKA’s Hungary office is the first to be set up in an EU member state, Kiziltoprak also said the agency is working in Hungary in various areas including health and the social and cultural fields.

TIKA is a state agency operating in 58 countries, with a total of 60 offices across the globe.

Last year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban gave a merit medal to TIKA head Serdar Cam, praising the agency for “contributing to the promotion of education, health and public institutions in Hungary and Hungarian culture in Turkey."

In 2015, historians discovered what they believe to be the shrine and mosque where Sultan Suleiman's internal remains were interred in 1566.

"This is the biggest and most important project jointly undertaken by Turkey and Hungary," said Orban.

Suleiman was the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire and presided over its golden age for 46 years. As well as military conquests in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, he instituted major legislative reforms and was a keen patron of the arts and technology.