‘Qatar is our second home’

The brotherly relations between Qatar and Turkey are not limited to cooperation in areas of politics and economy rather citizens of both countries share the same sentiments of mutual trust and affection.

The Turkish expatriates living here consider Qatar as their second home and praise Qatar’s peace, progress, prosperity and determination of Qatari citizens to achieve their goals.

After the unjust siege, imposed on Qatar in June last year, not only the relations at the State level strengthened between Qatar and Turkey but also more Turkish citizens came here to start new jobs or launch new business ventures.

The Peninsula talked to a number of distinguished Turkish expatriates to learn about their views on Qatar, its society, culture and understand their thoughts on mega development projects particularly the ones related to 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Peninsula also tried to explore the experiences Turkish community members gained during their stay in Qatar.

Barbaros Akyildiz, Managing Director of The Blue Group

Peace, security and progress are three elements which have impressed Barbaros Akyildiz, Managing Director of The Blue Group. “Everything in Qatar is peaceful, secure and well-organized,” he said.

Akyildiz joined The Blue Group last year in October and in less than one year, he has a lot to talk about Qatar and its achievements. “My around one year experience of living and working in Qatar has been very good. Before joining The Blue Group, I had not been here but had read and listened a lot about the country and its rapid progress,” he added.

He regularly interacts with Turkish community and has a number of Qatari friends. “My circle of friends from the Turkish community is expanding with passing time and same is the case regarding making Qatari friends,” he said.

Akyildiz said that brotherly relations between Turkey and Qatar were old but in recent years they touched new heights of mutual trust and cooperation. “We in our individual capacity can feel them while moving in the society.”

He said that a number of Turkish businessmen were turning their focus towards Qatar’s market and Qatari investments in Turkey were also on a constant rise. “New contracts are being made, new joint ventures are being matured,” he said, adding that the trend of Qatari-Turkish joint businesses was on the rise in the post-siege scenario.

Akyildiz has attended some marriage functions of his Qatari friends and thinks that there are numerous similarities between cultures of Turkey and Qatar. “Two cultures are not so separate, they share many common things.”

Talking on recent acute financial crisis in Turkey, he said that not only Turkish community living in Qatar was supporting their country’s economy but many Qataris had sought his advice on how they could help Turkey.

“During recent Lira fluctuations, many Qataris invested in Turkish currency. And it was not for the financial gains rather on the grounds of emotional affection,” he said, adding: “We need each other, support each other.”

Akyildiz also expressed delight over the fact that Turkish cuisine was getting popular in Qatar and many new Turkish restaurant franchises were opening in Qatar.

Akyildiz said that Qatar’s preparations for 2022 FIFA World Cup were amazing. “I visited the Supreme Committee majlis in Moscow during Russia 2018 and was delighted to observe the interest and curiosity of visitors for Qatar 2022,” he added.

The Blue group’s deeply rooted presence in the sports retail market in Qatar is spearheaded by Sports Corner. Sports Corner Woman, Adidas Y-3 and Adidas Originals are also part of Blue Group’s Sport Division.

Atilla Kurucayirli, High Net Worth Clients Coordinator at a leading private bank of Qatar 

Another Turkish citizen, Atilla Kurucayirli, who is living in Qatar for the last five years, described his experience of working in Qatar saying, “I feel at home.”

Atilla, High Net Worth Clients Coordinator at a leading private bank of Qatar, has arranged hundreds of visits of Turkish businessmen to Qatar particularly in the post-blockade scenario and with his efforts numerous joint ventures between Turkish and Qatari companies have been matured.

“Turkey and Qatar are like two hearts, one soul. Both countries are at the peak of their brotherly relations and being a Turkish national my efforts will always be to keep them at this level,” he said.

Atilla, without exaggeration, is the most dynamic Turkish expatriate in Qatar enjoying a huge circle of Qatari friends. “Recently, my friend Ahmed Al Maadheed and I presented a portrait of President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan to him in Ankara which Al Maadheed had created out of his love for Turkey and President Edrogan,” he said.

He said that the number of Turkish expatriates in Qatar was increasing. “The number of visitors from Turkey is also increasing.”

Atilla said that like other Turkish expatriates, he frequently visited restaurants offering original Turkish cuisine. “Sazeli at Mall of Qatar is my favourite Turkish restaurant but there are other good options as well including Hassan Kolcuoglu and Habib. Soon Turkey’s popular ‘Huqqa’ eatery is opening its branch in Qatar,” he added.

Dr Volkan Uygunucarlar, Co-Chairman and CEO of the Turkish Hospital

Dr Volkan Uygunucarlar, Co-Chairman and CEO of the Turkish Hospital thinks that Qatar is the pearl of GCC.

“Going very well,” was his answer when asked about his experience of establishing a private hospital in Qatar.

Turkish Hospital which was opened in February 2017 offers a wide range of sophisticated healthcare facilities and according to Dr Volkan provides solutions to health problems in Qatar leaving no space for patients to travel abroad on medical grounds.

“We invested in Qatar because we have full trust in the country. It is not the case of pulling investments from Qatar but exactly opposite,” he added.

Dr Volkan said: “Our aim is to provide all medical solutions in Qatar without sending patients to other countries. Turkish Hospital is a full-scale hospital offering all types of simple to complex surgeries.”

Dr Volkan lives in Doha with his family and enjoys socialization with his Turkish and Qatari friends. He thinks that there is a lot of scope for launching business ventures in Qatar. “Frequent interaction between private sectors of Turkey and Qatar is needed,” he observed.

“In Qatar, we feel like a citizen. In Qatar one can learn a lot from different communities living together peacefully.”

To a question about future expansion plans in services of Turkish Hospital, he said that soon the hospital would start a beauty centre offering advance-tech cosmetic surgery.

He said that more Turkish citizens came to start new jobs or businesses here after June 5, 2017 blockade. “Crisis did not affect Qatar rather today we are better than yesterday. Qatar is a strong country having wise leadership,” he added.

Burak Ozdal, GM and Partner at Vector Electromechanical

Burak Ozdal, GM and Partner at Vector Electromechanical says that success is guaranteed in Qatar for committed and honest people. “I am residing in Qatar for the last nine years and have witnessed country’s tremendous development,” he said.

He said that Qatari citizens knew very well how to set targets and achieve their goals. “The people here are friendly and welcoming. Qatari citizens are very humble and know how goals are achieved.”

Ozdal spent 29 years of his life out of Turkey in 14 different countries. “I was treated most beautifully here in Qatar.” He said that the current Gulf crisis and the blockade of Qatar was a product of jealousy. “Some countries could not tolerate rapid development and extraordinary achievements of Qatar therefore tried to hamper its growth but they all failed,” he observed.

He lauded ongoing preparations for 2022 FIFA World Cup saying that all preparations were being made very carefully.