Criticism of contractors from İlber Ortaylı: 'Immorality and the greed for money are everywhere'

Historian, author, and academic Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı made significant remarks during a talk he attended at the Aspendos Hall of the Atatürk Cultural Center, as part of the 14th Antalya Book Fair organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality.

In his speech, Ortaylı stated that the construction sector is damaging historical artifacts and criticized the insensitive behavior of contractors regarding this issue.

IMMORALITY AND THE GREED FOR MONEY ARE EVERYWHERE

Prof. Dr. Ortaylı harshly criticized the construction sector's approach to historical structures, saying, "Whoever feels like it pours cement over antiques while building. Contractors in this country boast about doing this. They say, 'My dear, we poured the concrete overnight.' They are doing this in Istanbul. There is history at every step. Immorality and the greed for money are everywhere. Unfortunately, all of Turkey's coastlines are going this way. Buildings are being constructed on olive groves. All the ancient artifacts on the shores of the Aegean and Mediterranean are spiraling out of control like this."

Ortaylı noted that some contractors act insensitively toward ancient artifacts they encounter during construction work, stating, "In this country, whoever feels like it cuts down an orange orchard, and whoever feels like it puts up a 10-story apartment building on agricultural land. They don't take water resources into account. All the ancient artifacts are spiraling out of control like this."

THOSE WHO EMIGRATE ABROAD AND VISA ISSUES

Touching upon how some individuals who emigrated from Turkey to the USA adapted to the culture there in a short time, Ortaylı criticized a university rector who recently moved to the USA, without naming them.

Ortaylı said, "We have such boors who emigrate to the USA. Moreover, one of them was a rector. He says, 'Now I pay 3 percent of my income there. Will Obama's Black people be hospitalized with that?' You just left Erzincan, for heaven's sake."

Evaluating the visa issues experienced by Turkish citizens during travel to European countries, Ortaylı stated, "We are the ones feeding all the islands in Greece. What should they do? Why did they close the visas? 3.5 million Syrians, and so on. Would those people want this? They will get up from here and cross over there. It is not clear what will happen after they cross. Certain events occurred, and a criminal atmosphere flowed directly into Europe."

200 THOUSAND RUSSIANS HAVE NO BUSINESS HERE

At the end of his speech, Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı asked if there was a Russian Cultural Center in Antalya, and when he received no answer from the audience, he said, "If not, are there only Russians? We used to have 35 thousand Russian brides here. The children were half-Turkish. They were also beneficial. 200 thousand Russians have no business here. That is too many."

News Source: 12punto