News

27 November 2018

The Oruç Reis Memorial was inaugurated in Algeria on the 500th anniversary of his martyrdom

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) inaugurated the memorial of Oruç Reis, who laid the foundations of the Turkish-Algerian friendship, on the 500th anniversary of his martyrdom in Algeria.

The inauguration ceremony of the memorial, which was built in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the martyrdom of Oruç Reis, took place in the Chabat Al Laham district of the Ain Temouchent province where the legendary Turkish sailor Oruç Reis was martyred. The ceremony was attended by Algerian Minister of Culture Azzedine Mihoubi, Turkey’ Ambassador to Algeria Mehmet Poroy, Military Attaché Marine Colonel Murat Horay, TİKA Coordinator Can Özdemir, Governor of Ain Temouchent Labiba Ouinez, General Chellal Aziz and the staff of the “TCG Oruçreis” frigate of the Turkish Naval Forces, which visited the port in the region.

The project, which was closely followed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was carried out with the collaboration of TİKA and the Governorship of Ain Temouchent. Standing five-meter-high with a two-meter pedestal and a three-meter statue, the memorial was designed by Algerian artists Ali and Sami Mebbani.

Oruç Reis had laid the foundations of the friendship and the fraternity between the peoples of Turkey and Algeria. It is expected that this memorial project, which was a joint effort by two countries on the 500th anniversary of his passing, will reinforce the friendship between Turkey and Algeria. The project aims to eternalize the memory of Oruç Reis at the location, where he was martyred.

Oruç Reis (1474-1518)

The heroic sailor Oruç Reis helped the transfer of thousands of Andalusian Muslims to North Africa and the preservation of the Muslim existence in the Maghreb against Spaniards. He was renowned for his victories in the Mediterranean along with his brothers Hizir (Hayreddin Barbarossa), Ilyas and Ishak. Having arrived at the Algerian lands upon the invitation of the local community in order to end the Spanish invasion, Oruç Reis also laid the foundations of the Turkish-Algerian friendship. Having lost one arm during the siege of a Spanish castle in Béjaïa in 1514, the sailor saved the capital city Algeria from Spanish dominion in 1516. He was martyred in Chabat Al Laham in 1518 when he was fighting in Tlemcen in western Algeria.

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