{"id":11243,"date":"2024-04-22T13:23:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T10:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/2024\/04\/mo-4\/"},"modified":"2024-11-20T20:40:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T17:40:31","slug":"kehrizler-the-contribution-to-the-world-civilization-by-turks-mehmet-ogutcu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/2024\/04\/kehrizler-the-contribution-to-the-world-civilization-by-turks-mehmet-ogutcu\/","title":{"rendered":"“Kehrizler\u201d: The Contribution to the World Civilization by Turks – Mehmet \u00d6\u011f\u00fct\u00e7\u00fc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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After emerging from Central\nAsia, Turks migrated extensively to all corners of the world, conquered new lands and blended with the civilizations they encountered. Nobody\ndenies the nomadic spirit of our ancestors, their constant urge to move, and\nthe fact that they were fierce warriors. If you look at our cities today, one can still say that we haven’t completely transitioned\nto a settled way of life; the nomadic spirit still persists. Throughout history, the claim that Turks were\n“barbaric, warrior-like, aggressive, plundering” holds some truth but\nis not entirely accurate. It contains injustices. The positive aspects, such as\nlaying the groundwork for significant civilizations when they were settled,\nbringing their traditions, cuisine, architecture, governance skills, and values\nto the places they went, are often overlooked in such assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who built these channels?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re looking for\nevidence of how advanced ancient Turks were, you only need to look at the Karez\n(or Kehriz) Channels, which have stood the test of time and are still in use\ntoday. Dating back to 200 BC, these channels, which brought water from melting snow\nin the Tian Shan Mountains to the Turpan region, are considered as an engineering marvel even by today’s standards. Built underground to prevent water evaporation during\nthe 6,000-kilometer journey from the Tian Shan Mountains to Turpan, these\nchannels were a testament to superb engineering skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Turpan in 1989 as\na Turkish diplomat, I was taken to the endpoint of one of these channels near\nthe city, resembling a lush oasis in the middle of the desert, which left a\nlasting impression on me. Constructed by Uyghur\nTurks, these channels are not only one of Central Asia’s but also one of the\nworld’s oldest underground water supply systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Keriz” and Sumerian Mathematicians<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201cKarez\/Kehriz,\u201d like you noticed, caught my attention too. Yes, you’re\nright; it carries the same meaning as “keriz” used in Anatolia today,\nwhich refers to a public fountain. These remarkable\nstructures, certified as the world’s second civilization, carry 858 cubic\nmeters of water daily, ranking second in length only after the Great Wall of\nChina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were designed based on magnificent calculations, utilized advanced mathematics, physics, and engineering skills\nto determine the slope, angle, flow rate of water to ensure the water’s correct path.\nThese channels prove us that the craftsmen lived in the Turpan region had the mathematical knowledge\nof the Sumerian era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are over 1000 Karez\nchannels of different lengths in the Turpan region. Each channel consists of\nvertical wells, underground and surface channels, and reservoirs. During\nconstruction, vertical wells were dug at intervals of 20 to 30 meters to allow\nworkers to breathe and drain the excavated soil and mud. The reservoirs in the\nchannels serve as water tanks regulating the water quantity. Starting at a depth of 110 meters, wells were dug at intervals to irrigate agricultural areas.\nThese wells range from 90 to 10 meters deep in Turpan. All these channels\noperate solely on the force of gravity, lifting water to the surface without\nthe need for pumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still in Use<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Converted into museums\ntoday, these channels continue to function seamlessly, transporting water and\nserving as a lifeline for the Turpan region. Alongside the Great Wall of China\nand the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Chinese proudly present the channels to the outside world as one of Ancient China’s great\narchitectural wonders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These channels stand as a\ngood example of how Turks, in their historical homeland, were able to create civilizational\nartifacts. The techniques used in their construction represent vivid examples\nof a highly organized civilization with advanced knowledge. Unfortunately, channels of the same quality, design,\nand sophistication cannot be replicated today. Showcasing examples like the\nKarez channels that highlight Turks’ contribution to world civilization should\nbe our obligation, both to our own people and to the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mehmet \u00d6\u011f\u00fct\u00e7\u00fc<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chairman, Global Resources Partners, UK, and The London Energy Club. Former diplomat, prime minister adviser, IEA and OECD senior executive, director and independent board member at British Gas, Genel Energy, Invensys, \u015ei\u015fecam, Ya\u015far Holding companies. Chairman of the Middle East Institute, Washington DC, Advisory Board. He can be contacted at mehmetogutcu@me.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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To cite this work:<\/strong> Mehmet \u00d6\u011f\u00fct\u00e7\u00fc, “Kehrizler: The Contribution to the World Civilization by Turks”, Panorama<\/em>, Online, 22 April 2024, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Copyright@UIKPanorama All on-line and print rights reserved. Opinions expressed in works published by the Panorama<\/em> belongs to the authors alone unless otherwise stated, and do not imply endorsement by the IRCT, Global Academy, or the Editors\/Editorial Board of Panorama. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After emerging from Central Asia, Turks migrated extensively to all corners of the world, conquered new lands and blended with the civilizations they encountered. Nobody denies the nomadic spirit of our ancestors, their constant urge to move, and the fact that they were fierce warriors. If you look at our cities today, one can still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":10504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[486,505],"tags":[656,653,612],"class_list":["post-11243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-world","tag-english","tag-international-politics","tag-security-strategy-geopolitics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}