Surgery in Turkey: past and present.

T here is not much data available on Turkish medicine before the acceptance of the Islamic religion. Medical history goes back to the eighth century, the time of the Uygurs and Orhun Turks. During this period surgeons from neighboring countries had an influence on Turkish medicine and some written data were established. Physicians were educated in hospitals in a “master-knight” relation. When lay medical schools were opened in Europe, Turks had founded the State of Seltschucks and started to build lay hospitals and schools. One of these examples is Nureddin Zengi Hospital in Damascus, Syria, built in 1174 and still visited today. The Gevher Nesibe Medical School and Hospital in Kayseri, Turkey, built in 1206, can also be visited today as a museum of medical history.