Scholars Encourage More Study of the Yemen-Turkey Historic Relationship [Archives:2008/1124/Local News]

SANA'A, Jan 26 ) Turkish professors from Al-Fatih, Istanbul and Marmara universities visited Yemen Wednesday and Thursday in order to participate in a conference held at University of Science and Technology in Sana'a. Both Turkish and Yemeni professors talked about Yemen- Turkey relations from a historic point of view.

Abu Bakar Al-Qorbi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed that cooperation between Yemen and Turkey isn't new, but dates back hundreds of years to Ottoman rule in Yemen. The Ottoman Empire ruled Yemen for two periods, first in 1538 to 1638, and again from 1828 to 1918.

Moreover, by giving more attention to the history and research in order to grasp the Ottoman role in Yemen, scholars and the public can better understand whether the Ottomans presence in Yemen was an occupation or merely an authority there to preserve and spread Islam, said Dawood Al-Hidabi the Vice-Chair of the board of directors of the University of Science and Technology and the chair of the science research center at the Sana'a university.

Many Arabs, but especially Yemenis, disagree about the Ottoman role in the Arabian Peninsula. Some consider the Ottomans as colonial ruler, while others feel Ottoman rule was largely in place to protect Yemen from other countries like Portugal and England.

“The Ottomans were not angels. For sure they made some mistakes in Yemen