Fatih Altaylı explains on live broadcast: 'İlber Ortaylı's condition had been deteriorating for a year, he never took care of himself'

Renowned historian İlber Ortaylı, who had been struggling with health issues recently, was hospitalized yesterday evening after his condition worsened. Bad news came from Ortaylı, who was intubated and placed in intensive care. Ortaylı, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital, lost his battle for life.

Journalist Fatih Altaylı stated in his remarks to Sözcü TV that İlber Ortaylı's health condition had been steadily worsening recently and that everyone around him had been deeply saddened during this process.

"IT HAD BEEN CONSTANTLY DETERIORATING FOR A YEAR"

Altaylı stated that his health had not been good for a long time and said: "It had been constantly deteriorating for a year. He also had high blood sugar and he never paid attention to it. After I was released from prison, he even took us out to dinner. We last filmed a program together."

THE LAST DAYS SPENT IN THE HOSPITAL

Altaylı stated that they had been at the hospital for about a month and described his last visits: "I went to visit him last Sunday and Monday. We talked quite a bit, we gossiped together. I had surgery the next day, so I couldn't go for a few days."

He said that when he left the hospital after his surgery, the situation had become even more severe.

PLACED IN INTENSIVE CARE

Altaylı stated that his friend's condition became critical in a short time and continued: "When I left the hospital, they had moved him to intensive care. His condition continued to deteriorate there."

He expressed that the doctors made a great effort during the intensive care process, but his health condition did not stabilize.

"WE WERE HOPEFUL FOR A MOMENT BUT HE DID NOT RETURN"

Stating that there was a brief glimmer of hope in the last few days, Altaylı concluded his words with the following expressions: "The day before yesterday, something promising happened, he looked like he was about to open his eyes. But then it got worse and unfortunately, he did not return."

WHO IS İLBER ORTAYLI?

One of Turkey's leading historians, İlber Ortaylı, explained history to large audiences through his studies on Ottoman and Turkish history, his books, and television programs. Born in Bregenz in 1947, Ortaylı moved to Turkey with his family and was educated at Ankara University.

In 1968, he graduated from the Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences and the Department of History at the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography. Later, he studied Slavistics and Orientalistics at the University of Vienna.

He completed his master's degree at the University of Chicago with Prof. Halil İnalcık.

Ortaylı, who worked as an academic for many years, taught at Galatasaray University and Ankara University; he served as the director of the Topkapı Palace Museum between 2005 and 2012.

Among Ortaylı's works are important books such as The Longest Century of the Empire, Rediscovering the Ottomans, and The History of the Turks. With his multilingual and unique narrative style, Ortaylı is known in Turkey as a respected name in the field of history and as the "teacher of teachers."

News Source: 12punto