Seljuk and Ottoman health care will be the focus point of the 3rd World Healthy Aging Congress and EXPO 2018, announced by the World Aging Council earlier this week.

The World Healthy Aging Congress will be organized between December 7 and 10 in Istanbul under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The first congress was held in Malaysia in 2012 and the second was held in South Africa in 2015. Now, as the host country, Turkey will host the world's leading health care specialists and inform them about the ancient Turkish health care techniques which are still used as part of alternative medicine.

Speaking to the press, World Aging Council President Kemal Aydın said they have been promoting the upcoming congress in Europe over a month, adding they expect a huge turnout at the congress.

"We will mainly focus on discussing health care and the hospitals operating in the Seljuk and Ottoman Empire. Health care was very important and advanced in these empires compared to other states in Europe and around the world," said Ay

dın.

Seljuk and Ottoman healing institutions were ahead of their time. Sivas Divriği Hospital, Kastamonu Yılanlı Hospital and Taş Mescit Hospital in Çankırı which were used during the rule of the Seljuks are still standing, offering insight to how patients were treated.

On the other hand, the Ottoman Era Bayezid II Social Complex which was also houses a hospital, made breakthroughs in medical care in its time. In the hospital, modern and alternative medicines were used to treat mentally ill patients along with music therapy, water therapy and aromatherapy.