Turkey renames UAE Embassy streets in Ankara

By Muhammed Ali Toruntay

ANKARA (AA) - The United Arab Emirates’ Embassy in Turkey’s capital has a new address evoking Turkey’s Ottoman heritage in the Middle East, including its defense of Muslim holy sites.

The embassy building has not moved, but the streets around it have been renamed, in the wake of a historical row between Turkey and the UAE.

Under an Ankara Municipality decision, 613rd St. has been renamed Fahreddin Pasha Street - -- after the Ottoman governor of Medina, Saudi Arabia from 1916-1919 -- and 609th Ave. in front of the embassy was also renamed "Medine Müdafii" (Defender of Medina) Ave.

The move comes after social media posts last month by Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s foreign minister, accusing Fahreddin Pasha of committing crimes against Medina’s population, including theft.

The post drew the ire of Ankara, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his top aide Ibrahim Kalin slamming the allegations.

"Where were your ancestors when our Fahreddin Pasha was defending Medina?" Erdogan asked last month.

He added that the so-called “theft” was actually "protecting the holy relics of the Prophet Mohamed from [British] invaders."