“THERE IS NO OTHER COUNTRY THAT CAN DELIVER 455 THOUSAND HOUSES IN 2 YEARS WITH ITS FINANCE”

Minister Kurum also emphasized that they completed 455 thousand houses in 2 years and said, “We know that there is no other country in the world that will carry out ground surveys, draw the projects, complete the planning and deliver 455 thousand houses in 2 years with flying colors. Currently, there is no country other than Türkiye that has the experience, knowledge and determination to produce 23 houses per hour and 550 houses per day. In Europe and America, there is no other country that can insure its citizens in case of floods and fires.” “While there is an understanding that relegates people to companies, the Republic of Turkey, under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has never left its nation in trouble, in difficulty or in the open. This effort, this success is the success of our country and our nation,” he said.

Speaking about the 500 Thousand Social Housing project and saying that they have spread the construction of the century throughout the country, Minister Kurum said, “We want to spread our experience in the construction of the century to 81 provinces. With this understanding, we started the Housing Project of the Century and we are implementing our 500 thousand social housing project. We will take you one step closer to your new homes by drawing lots for 13 thousand 890 social housing that we will bring to our city within the scope of our ‘Home Owner Turkey’ project. 12 houses in the center of Gaziantep.” We will offer 1,000 homes in Araban, 330 in İslahiye, 30 in Karkamış, 750 in Nizip, 300 in Oğuzeli, and 200 in Yavuzeli to our brothers from Gaziantep. I believe that when these homes are completed, we will deliver our homes to our brothers from Gaziantep. “It will increase, rent and price pressure will decrease; the neighborhood culture will become stronger, and the tradesmen will be more vibrant and the industry will be stable. In other words, with this step we take today, we will not only make our citizens homeowners, but also make their lives easier by strengthening the social fabric of the city. I hope that each of our brothers and sisters who will find their homes once again will be blessed with their homes, and that they will live in their homes in health, peace and well-being.”

“WE ARE IMPLEMENTING SERVICES, THEY ARE PERFORMING PERCEPTION OPERATIONS”

In the last part of his speech, Minister Kurum, who reacted harshly to CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and the opposition, said, “While we are implementing all these services one by one, those who claim to be the main opposition of this country continue to try to use the earthquake region as an election material for themselves. They have not given up for 3 years. They have attempted to slow down our services with perception operations. They have tried to discredit the projects we have implemented with unrealistic claims. We have completed the houses, built the bazaars, squares and schools, and this time they will openly say ‘they will give the houses with interest’.” They are lying. We explained it, let’s explain it again. We are doing the same thing as we have done in all disaster areas for 24 years. We are fully covering the 351 billion lira infrastructure cost of the 455 thousand disaster residences we have built. In other words, our state pays 65 percent of the housing prices, including the infrastructure. Our citizens will start paying for 2 years after receiving their keys. “They will pay the same price throughout the year and become homeowners in installments of 8,750 liras,” he said.

“THE OPPOSITION Boasts, ‘I SENT TRASHBINS TO THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE’, AND DOES NOT LIKE 455 THOUSAND NESTS”

Stating that the opposition is talking nonsense instead of doing service, Kurum said, “They are still talking; however, they have not even hammered a nail into Gaziantep. You have seen the Grand Mosque in Hatay, right? They took on the responsibility of saying ‘We will build it’, but our mosque is still in ruins. Come on, I have passed the earthquake zone, at least do not neglect your service in the provinces you govern. The condition of the roads in Izmir is known, the traffic in Istanbul has turned into India. The traffic in Ankara has gone crazy, the water is gone.” The problem is not over. In other words, this mentality, which is incapable of bringing water to our nation, is trying to give us a lesson in urban planning in the earthquake zone. He boasts that he does not like the 455 thousand homes. We talk with the work, not with words. Before you even lay the foundation, we will give you the keys and drink tea with our people. You cannot remove the rubble, we will finish it and raise the call to prayer from the mosques. We talk to our people in our bazaars and squares. That’s why they also get angry at those who appreciate us, who give us their due, and who visit us. We are in every step that can be done for the benefit of our nation. Why are you disturbed by this? Let me tell you, they have been using the literature of victimization for years, and they are disturbed by it even more. “Because we will continue to work day and night for our nation. Thank God, we have experienced a disaster recovery process that is followed with envy by all countries in the world. Our success is known to every fair person. We say, ‘We do not want any other blessings to overshadow it,’ and we continue on our way,” he said.

Following the speeches, a draw was held to determine the beneficiaries of 13 thousand 890 houses planned to be completed in the city. In addition to the Minister Kurum, Gaziantep Governor Kemal Çeber, members of parliament, Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin, Şahinbey Mayor Mehmet Tahmazoğlu, Şehitkamil Mayor Umut Yılmaz, city protocol and many citizens attended the ceremony.

In the investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, detention orders were issued for 21 people on charges of ‘buying, accepting or possessing drugs or stimulants for use’, ‘using drugs or stimulants’, ‘encouraging and mediating prostitution’ and ‘facilitating the use of drugs or stimulants’.

THEY WERE RELEASED

The suspects, who were detained and their procedures at the police station were completed, were sent to the courthouse yesterday. Singer Murat Dalkılıç, Duman band soloist Kaan Tangöze, actors İsmail Hacıoğlu and Kemal Doğulu were released after giving statements to the prosecutor’s office. Among the suspects referred to the court, businessman Barış Talay, model Tolga Kulakçı, phenomenon Dilara Kırmıt, Tolga Sezgin and Ramazan Bayar were arrested and sent to prison. 12 suspects were released on condition of judicial control. It was learned that some suspects defended themselves by saying, “I use it myself, not to sell it.” On the other hand, while the drug test of the phenomenon Melis Yürür, who was previously detained, was negative, drugs were detected in the tests of Gaye Kıray and Aykut Tarakçıoğlu. Drug residue was also found in Kemal Can Parlak’s hair.

Turkish Red Crescent has accelerated its aid activities in order to reduce the effects of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The institution sent off the 21st Kindness Ship, the largest shipment ever sent, from Mersin Port on the first day of Ramadan. There are approximately 3,300 tons of humanitarian aid on the ship, including approximately 175 thousand food parcels, as well as clothing, hygiene, shelter, water and basic living materials. After the ship reaches Egypt’s El-Arish Port, the aid is planned to be shipped to Gaza via the Rafah Border Gate by trucks.

‘THE BIGGEST HELP EVER’

Red Crescent President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz emphasized that this shipment is the largest aid ship of the Red Crescent so far and said, “We bought the largest aid ship we could get and loaded the most aid so far. Despite this, we still have aid materials.” Stating that the aid flow to Gaza is affected not by the capacity of the Red Crescent, but by the restrictions on border crossings, Yılmaz stated that they are in a position to send new ships in a short time. Yılmaz said, “We are in a position to lift the kindness ships again after a week. We are ready in terms of both operational capacity and donations. However, our speed is limited to the speed of the trucks entering there.” Emphasizing that the production capacity within Gaza is of vital importance due to the slowness in border crossings, Red Crescent President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz stated that Red Crescent soup kitchens are the most sustainable aid channel.

Iftar for 1 MILLION 800 THOUSAND PEOPLE

Stating that the daily hot meal production for 30 thousand people in Gaza was increased to 60 thousand with Ramadan, Yılmaz said, “We aim to support iftar and sahur for 1 million 800 thousand people during Ramadan, whether they come and buy it or we deliver it.” Stating that the meals are delivered to the tents in packaged form and served to patients and healthcare workers, Yılmaz said that this model is of strategic importance as it is not dependent on external entrances.

GAZA TRADESHOPS WILL BE KEPT SUSTAINED

Explaining that the TURKISH Red Crescent plans to purchase 60 thousand food parcels locally in order to support the economic life in Gaza, Yılmaz stated that this is also a social economy move to keep the tradesmen in the region afloat. Emphasizing that hygiene materials are among the priority topics, Yılmaz stated that lack of hygiene weakens the immune system and increases the risk of epidemic diseases, and noted that it is imperative to keep this channel open at all times.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with the families of the martyrs at the Çankaya Mansion at the first iftar of Ramadan. “After prophethood, the highest rank is martyrdom,” said Erdoğan, adding:

Our nation has gone through very difficult tests to make this land, where it has lived for a thousand years, its eternal homeland. It was exposed to Crusades, Mongol attacks, and invasion attempts. No matter what they did, they could not remove us from these lands. They could not silence the call to prayer that rose to the sky 5 times a day, and they could not lower our flag that was waving coyly in the hearts. They could not occupy our state or enslave our nation.

We lost our lives, we buried our children whom we considered dear to us, but we did not compromise on our future. We survived all the troubles with the inspiration we received from our martyrs and the spirit of Çanakkale and Manzikert. It is with this spirit that we opposed the 7 powers in the War of Independence, we stopped the bloodshed in Cyprus with this spirit, we wrote the July 15 epic with this spirit, and we eliminated economic attacks and disinformation and manipulations against our national unity with this spirit.

THE WORLD IS BEING RESHAPED

It is with this spirit that we have continued our fight against terrorism for 50 years. The values ​​that our martyrs entrusted to us are the homeland, the call to prayer, the flag, independence, and protecting the rights and laws of the nation. We have been struggling to protect these relics for 23 years. Today, world politics is being reshaped. There are serious crises and tensions around us.

The ugly faces of the actors who have been selling us morality for years, talking about democracy and using the concepts of ‘rights, law and freedom’, which they have monopolized, as a stick, are being revealed one by one. We are very aware of the games played, the traps set, the trappers, and the herds of hyenas dressed in sheep’s clothing. Thanks to the operations of our heroic army and other security units, we have seriously limited the mobility of terrorist organizations.

Significant success was achieved in a short time in the terrorism-free Türkiye study that we started 16 months ago. We act carefully, cautiously and meticulously. We are determined to save Türkiye, hopefully forever, from this scourge of terrorism that has been burning our hearts for half a century. There are also good developments in our neighbor Syria.

Please know that we do not and cannot tolerate any initiative, attitude or action that would disturb our relatives of martyrs and veterans. Even though those who feed on deadlock, those who rely on tension, and those who do not want Türkiye to get rid of the bloody shackles do not see our good intentions, you see our sincerity. We will not fall for their tricks. We will be vigilant and will never give favors to those who try to sow discord between us. You are entrusted to us by our martyrs. It is our duty to protect the trust properly.

Our state will continue to be with you with all its resources tomorrow, as it was yesterday. We have introduced many services, opportunities and conveniences for you in 23 years. We supported the relatives of martyrs and our veterans on a wide range of issues, from the right to additional employment, to care opportunities for our veterans, to the right to discount on bills. Hopefully, we will never leave you alone from now on and will continue to provide all kinds of support. His wife Emine Erdoğan, who attended the iftar with President Erdoğan, also shared the following statements on social media: “We were very pleased to meet with the valuable families of our martyrs and our veterans at our first iftar table. I commemorate our heroic martyrs with mercy and our veterans with gratitude. May God help and protect our Mehmetçik who are on duty for the homeland in all corners of our country.”

Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Knowledge Dissemination Foundation, was welcomed with shows of love by the Rohingya refugees he visited in Bangladesh.

Bilal Erdoğan, TİKA President Abdullah Eren and former football player Mesut Özil visited the Humanitarian Aid Hospital in the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar region.

Bilal Erdoğan also visited the TİKA center located in the camp where Rohingya Muslim refugees live. Bilal Erdoğan and Eren met with the students here and toured the center. The delegation visited the music class and TIKA Computer and Robotics Workshop, distributed gifts to the children and took photos.

Pointing out the efforts to eliminate the educational deficiencies of Rohingya Muslims, Bilal Erdoğan thanked TIKA for its contributions to the process.

Mesut Özil and TIKA President Eren played football with the refugees at the 3rd Rohingya Football Tournament cup ceremony organized by TIKA. Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims watched the ceremony. After the match, awards were presented to the successful teams and players.

Bilal Erdoğan and Eren later chatted with the students at the Turkish Religious Foundation El Şifa Model Girls’ School.

Meanwhile, Bilal Erdoğan broke his fast at the house of Muhammed Ayub, one of TİKA’s development ambassadors in Cox’s Bazar.

“70 years later, on March 1, 2005, the official visit of then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Addis Ababa went down in history as the first official visit to Sub-Saharan Africa at the level of a prime minister. This visit produced concrete results in a short time. As a matter of fact, on April 12, 2005, Turkey obtained observer status in the African Union, and the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Addis Ababa was accredited to the African Union. “In this new period that started with Ethiopia, Türkiye’s initiative in Africa has gone beyond the level of discourse and gained an institutional and practice-based character.”

This step, taken with strategic wisdom 21 years ago, took Türkiye-Africa relations to a completely different point. Türkiye is now a country that is taken into account and plays a game in the African geography. Apart from its special and close ties in Somalia and Libya, Türkiye’s relations with the entire African continent, especially with Egypt, are very good. Since the European colonialists were forced to leave in recent years, there is no one in this geography except China, the USA, Türkiye and, although it is not mentioned much, the United Arab Emirates. There is also Zionist Israel, which acts as a troublemaker.

Zionist Israel is very disturbed by both the improvement of UAE-Türkiye relations after 2021 and the deep relationship Türkiye has established in Somalia. But he is most disturbed by the “Ankara Protocol” signed between Somalia and Ethiopia in January 2025.

He showed his discomfort by recognizing Somaliland in December 2025. This was no coincidence. It is not clear whether the UAE played a role, but the aim of the zionists is to sabotage the Ethiopia-Somalia peace led by Türkiye.

Here is such a dirty attempt to disrupt regional calculations in the background of a one-day trip to Ethiopia. President Erdoğan touched upon this very issue in his joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and said:

“We believe that regional countries should develop solutions to the problems of the region and that the Horn of Africa should not be turned into a field of struggle for foreign powers. I would like to emphasize again that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is of no benefit to either Somaliland or the Horn of Africa.”