Turkey (Anatolia) is located in the northern half of the
hemisphere between the Black Sea the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas.
The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Atatürk and in 2003;
the estimated population was over 70 million people.
Because of its geographical location, the mainland of
Anatolia has always been of military and strategic importance in the
region, and it is the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has
also been a prominent center of commerce because of its land connections
to two continents (Asia & Europe) and because of the seas surrounding
it.
In modern history, the U.S. Commerce Department designated
Turkey as one of the world’s ten “Big Emerging Markets”
and in 1999 Turkey was formally designated as a candidate for full membership
of the European Union. Currently, the Government of Turkey is engaged
in harmonizing its legislation and institutional basis to match EU standards
and requirements. Turkey a country rich in its own national culture,
but it is also open to the heritage of other world civilizations and
in tune with the developments of the modern technological age.
Within Turkey, nearly 100,000 doctors take care of patients
in 52 university hospitals and numerous state hospitals. Hacettepe University
Department of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Unit is the largest CF clinic
in Turkey. A team of professionals including pediatric and adult pulmonologists,
experienced nurses, chest physiotherapists, pediatric gastroenterologists,
psychiatrists, dietitians and social workers treats the patients. This
team works in close collaboration with molecular biology and microbiology
laboratories. Team members conduct research and their findings have
been published in national and international journals. In addition,
this CF team attends the ECFS Conference every year to present their
studies. Physicians working in this clinic have been trained in CF care
in CF clinics in the USA. Two such doctors received the CFW scholarships.
Patients from the surrounding cities visit the outpatient
clinic everyday of the week and this facility also provides in-patient
care for those who need hospitalization for acute episodes. Some patients
receive home intravenous treatment and gastrostomy feeding has been
performed with success. This center regularly performs pulmonary function
tests and some patients undergo flexible bronchoscopy. While nebulized
Tobramycin solution (TOBI) has yet to be licensed in Turkey, patients
do have access to other CF medications. In most cases, government support
provides medical care and medications. However, surgeons in Turkey are
not as yet performing lung transplantation. In addition to this center
at Hacettepe, some patients receive care at CF centers at the Marmara
University in Istanbul and Ege University in Izmir.
In our clinic, patients’ ages range from 1 month
to 30 years with 20 patients over the age of 16. However, while the
estimated number of CF patients in Turkey is about 1000, many patients
are not registered at a CF center. Prenatal diagnosis can be performed
if the mutation of the sibling is known. European CF laboratories assist
in detecting other mutations in the remainder of patients undergoing
prenatal diagnosis.
In 1995, doctors working in Hacettepe University in Ankara
founded the Childhood Respiratory Diseases and CF Association (Web site:
www.kistikfibrozis.com, (Turkish language only), e-mail: hapkf @ hacettepe.edu.tr).
The president of the association is Professor Ayhan Gocmen and there
are 80 members. The association informs patients, families and physicians
about CF by organizing meetings and by publishing books both for physicians
and patients. Three national congresses about CF have been organized
in Ankara and the European CF Congress will be held in Antalya, Turkey
in 2007.
Some Interesting Facts about TURKEY:
• The words "Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw,
I conquered)" were said by Julius Caesar when he went to Anatolia
in 47 BC.
• Tulips are not native to Holland. They were actually introduced
from Anatolia in the 16th century.
• The Ottoman Navy brought the Jewish people who were expelled
from Spain to safety in the Ottoman lands in 1492.
• Christianity first bloomed in Anatolia with the first church
of Christianity dedicated to St. Peter in Antioch.
• Early Christians fleeing from Roman persecution found refuge
in Cappadocia's underground cities.
• Mount Ararat, the highest mountain in Turkey, is believed to
be the place where Noah's Ark landed.
• St. Nicholas - today's Santa Claus, was born in Patara (next
to Kalkan) and lived as the bishop of Myra in Demre (also near Kalkan).
• Followers of Jesus were first called "Christians"
in today's Antakya.
• Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World stood in Anatolia
- the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
• The first human ever to attempt to fly was Turkish; he tried
this during the 7th century.
• Due to its varied landscape and climate, Turkey is one of the
richest countries in the world in the number of species of flowers,
with approximately 9,000 species of which 3,000 are native. In the whole
of Europe, there are only 11,500 species
• Turkey is the only secular Muslim country in the Mediterranean
region
• Turkey is a young country in more ways than one: over two-thirds
of the Turkish population is under the age of thirty.
• Turkey is one of the few agriculturally self-sufficient countries
in the world.
• The first coins ever to be used were coins made of electrum
(an alloy of gold and silver) were used by the Lydians in 640 BC Turkey
Editor’s Note: For tourist and cultural
information about Turkey, check this website: http://www.kultur.gov.tr
