Süleyman Shah’s tomb will return to original location: Minister

ANKARA

The tomb of Süleyman Shah, the grandfather of the Ottoman Empire founder, will be returned to its original place when conditions are suitable, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Fikri Işık said on June 7. 

“When the conditions meet, the Süleyman Shah Tomb will be moved,” he said in a televised interview while elaborating on a recent deal with the United States, which envisages the withdrawal of a Syrian Kurdish group from the Manbij region.

He reiterated that the decision by the U.S. to partner with the People’s Protection units (YPG) was a mistake, adding that the Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. is a positive development but it is insufficient.

“Turkey will be satisfied when the U.S. cuts off its relations with the YPG,” he said. Turkey will give further support to the U.S. if Washington makes this “strategic decision,” he noted.

The tomb was moved 22 kilometers (14 miles) west of Kobani by the Turkish army for security reasons on Feb. 22, 2015, after clashes between opposition groups the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) intensified in the region, with the al-Qaeda-affiliated ISIL recently taking control of a nearby town.

The tomb for Süleyman Shah, the founder of the Seljuk Empire in Anatolia who died in 1086, was located in the governorate of Aleppo and has been considered Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty with France.