A view of Turkey from Oman and Yemen

We said that in Yemen, while a President and his 7 deputies are focused only on the shares falling to them from the partition of the country, far from the problems of hunger, defense, security, health, transport and the absence of every kind of service in their own country, which has been occupied, divided up and split into cantons, the people are trying to solve their own problems and bind their own wounds. At the center in Oman founded by the Yemeni businessman and opinion leader Hamud Mikhlafi, prosthetic arms and legs have been fitted within three years to a thousand people who lost limbs in the war; now more than 2 thousand people are registered and waiting their turn, and another 5-6 thousand who have not yet reached the center are expected to register and join the queue.

The Arab Prosthetics Center is the largest in the Middle East in its field and uses the most advanced technologies. In a 35-day program, the patient taken from his home in Yemen is not only fitted with a prosthesis; he is also given training in living with it and in taking part in life in the most active way possible. At the end of the program the patients play games such as football, basketball and table tennis, and can go on mountain trips.

Mikhlafi has taken the work a little further: he finds a suitable spouse for those he has treated and gets them married too. Of course the great dramas ending as happily as possible makes all the Center's employees very happy as well.

Each of the thousand people treated has a separate story. If only these stories were recorded, a magnificent corpus of humanity would emerge. For instance, Esrar, a 4-year-old girl missing a leg, whom we cannot get enough of embracing and loving for her charm. When she was only 9 months old, in her mother's arms, the bullet of a Houthi sniper that hit her mother tore off her leg too. She was brought to the center only after two years and fitted with a prosthetic leg. But since those of child age grow, their body measurements also change in a short time, and on average they need to be replaced every year.

Another village girl, full of life and joy, named Farah, lost her leg to a mine she stepped on while grazing her goats, and her life of course turned dark, but again after a few years she was brought to the center and the necessary treatments were carried out; now she runs as before, accompanying her friends in her village, and continues her life from where it was left.

Of course, in the accomplishment of all this work, the contributions of the Sultanate of Oman must be mentioned. Oman shows exactly the same approach as Turkey to people who are victims of war. It encouraged the establishment of this center and admits all the patients who come into the country without causing any problem.

Now Mikhlafi is trying to build a fully equipped hospital for the treatment of thousands of patients who were paralyzed, again during the war, by spinal cord injuries, and Oman

is supporting this project too.

Actually I said this in my speech at the meeting as well: such necessities can become a cause for the development of both science and health technologies. God willing, the war in Yemen will end too, but may this center, in its most advanced form, continue to be a center serving the whole Middle East and even the Islamic world.

THE ARAB PROSTHETICS CENTER IS PREPARING TO ACCEPT THOSE INJURED IN THE EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY AS WELL

Since we have come to this, Mikhlafi, immediately recalling his debt of gratitude to Turkey, stated that they are preparing to serve patients who have become amputees because of the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes as well. Saying that they had always seen Turkey standing beside the war-stricken Yemenis, that this was a debt impossible to repay, he said, "If only Turkey had not experienced such a disaster, but if we can do something for Turkey too, we would feel very happy."

CONVERSATION AND FELLOWSHIP UNDER THE STARS IN OMAN

Oman is a very important country among the Gulf countries, famed for its beauty. In terms of form of government it is in fact the most deeply rooted. It has a deeply rooted state tradition with a history of more than 400 years, and this always leads it to behave more cautiously, more sensibly and more neutrally in all matters or conflicts that arise. It does not fall out with anyone, and does not interfere even when there are developments it does not approve of.

This moderate approach has permeated its understanding of religion, its politics and its social relations. It is ranked as the third safest country in the world. It is a society that continues its course from past to future without experiencing a rupture, with its spotless streets and avenues and its urbanization that is as orderly as possible and does not defy nature.

Walking back to the hotel from a program at night, we see 10-15 people sitting and chatting on a wide sidewalk by the road. Such gatherings are in fact frequently encountered on the streets of Oman. As if the communication technologies that isolate people had never come near them, they enliven the night with conversation and fellowship among themselves as in ancient times, and nurture their friendships.

We greet them, and they do not stop at returning the greeting; they immediately invite us too to drink their coffee and join their conversation. As soon as we accept, we find ourselves in a setting of conversation and fellowship lasting nearly two hours. This is not enough, they say, and invite us without fail to a meal at the same place the next day. We attend that too; in fact, it is impossible to refuse in the face of that sincere insistence. The meal, at which the Gulf's kabsa and its own distinctive sweets, and Omani halwa and then plenty of cardamom Arab coffee are served, is a pretext,

the heart wants conversation.

In fact, simply being a guest would have been enough, I think, to see this warmth from these lovely people, but our being from Turkey ensures that we are embraced with a much greater warmth. Among them there is one who, though an engineer, is very interested in history. He makes interesting and exciting analyses of the Ottomans, the Safavids, Rumi, Abdülhamid. The others join in with their comments.

IF THE BALLOT BOX WERE SET UP IN THE ARAB WORLD, ERDOĞAN'S VOTE WOULD BE AT LEAST 80 PERCENT

Things come to these days; they follow both the earthquake and the elections in Turkey very closely. They ask us to convey their great sorrow and condolences on account of the earthquake, and as for the elections, all of them comment on developments as Erdoğan supporters.

As they say, if the ballot box were set up not in Turkey but in the Arab world or in the entire Islamic world, Erdoğan would definitely win the elections with at least 80 percent. They embrace both the AK Parti and Erdoğan far more than anyone in Turkey. According to them, Erdoğan does not represent only himself; he represents the hope, the dream and the desires of the entire Islamic world.

Among them is also a poet known and recognized by all of Oman, who recites a poem he wrote for Erdoğan after the Davos walkout. It is not a mere eulogy; it is a poem of quite high artistic refinement.

They do not forget their bequest as they part: that with what he has done for twenty-five years Erdoğan has whitened the face of the entire ummah, so look after him.