Ailing Turkish scholar, 99, brought back home from US

By Ahmet Sertan Usul

ANKARA (AA) – A seasoned Turkish academic working in the US was brought back by the Turkish government on Tuesday to continue cancer treatment in his homeland.

The Turkish Health Ministry arranged for an air ambulance to bring back. Mehmet Ilhan Basgoz, a professor emeritus of Central Eurasian studies and Turkish folklore expert at Indiana University in the Midwestern US state of the same name.

Basgoz, who is 99 years old, had asked authorities in Turkey to bring him back to the land of his birth to continue his long battle against cancer, and so an air ambulance was sent for him.

Speaking at Esenboga Airport in the capital Ankara, Basgoz said he is happy to be back in his homeland after working abroad for over 30 years.

He was taken to Ankara City Hospital, where he will continue his treatment.

Basgoz is known as one of the most prominent scholars of Turkish folklore.

Born in Turkey’s central Sivas province in 1921, he earned his PhD at Ankara University in 1949.

He is currently professor emeritus in folklore and Central Eurasian studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.