INFOGRAPHIC - Turkish aid agency completes 800 projects in 6 months

By Zuhal Demirci and Tugrul Cam

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's official aid agency completed around 800 projects within the first six months of 2019, an official said on Friday.

Serkan Kayalar, the acting head of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) told Anadolu Agency that TIKA, with 61 offices in 59 countries around the world works to realize various projects in over 170 countries.

- TIKA's activities during month of Ramadan

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, TIKA has extended Turkey's helping hand to over 400,000 people in 75 countries, Kayalar said.

"Nearly 80 restorations of TIKA projects have been completed in 30 countries and are ready for opening," he added.

- TIKA's activities in Azerbaijan

Kayalar also said the agency would restore the Great Mardakan Castle as well as Tuba Shah Mosque located inside it in the Mardakan settlement of the capital Baku in Azerbaijan.

"TIKA has had an office in Azerbaijan since 1994, and this will be our first restoration activity in Azerbaijan," he said.

- TIKA's activities in Iraq

In Iraq, the restoration projects of Sheikh Abdulkadir Geylani Complex in the capital Baghdad, and the historical Kayseri Bazaar -- devastated in fire in Kirkuk city -- are continuing, Kayalar said.

He said TIKA would start the restoration works of the Imami Azam Complex in Baghdad, according to the project calendar.

- TIKA's Balkan activities

TIKA has implemented nearly 900 projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 24 years, Kayalar said.

Restoration is underway for the historical Martyrs' Memorial Cemetery in the capital Sarajevo, as well as various mosques in the southern Mostar and central Bugojno cities, he added.

Kayalar said the agency completed the restoration of the historical Mehmet Pasha Sokolovic [Sokullu] Bridge in Bosnia and the country’s eastern town of Visegrad, one of the biggest restoration projects in the Balkans. He underlined that this project would be ready for the opening in the near future.

He noted that the restoration works of the nearly millennium-old Ram Fortress near Veliko Gradiste town in northeastern Serbia was completed and ready to open.

- TIKA's activities in Africa

TIKA also oversaw the restoration of the tombs of Abyssinian King Najashi -- who accepted the first Muslims fleeing from Arabia -- and his companions in Ethiopia.

In Niger, the agency has constructed the Niger-Turkey Friendship Hospital and a school, which has completed preparations for its opening.

The projects were made at the instruction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Niger in 2013, Kayalar said.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev