In the night of 16 September 1890 the Turkish frigate Ertugrul is caught up in a typhoon and sinks off the coast of Kushimoto, Japan. Risking their own lives, local villagers are able to rescue 69 Turkish sailors. Although being very poor and having hardly to eat, the villagers share what little they have with strangers from a country 9,000 kilometers away. 95 years later, during the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq announces an indiscriminate attack on Iran. More than 300 Japanese are stranded in Tehran. In the morning of 19 March 1985 a Turkish Airlines aircraft takes off for Tehran to evacuate the Japanese. Not only is Tehran already under heavy rocket fire. But the remaining Turks at Tehran Mehrabad Airport still need to be convinced that they won't be able to board their own country's rescue flight.
125 Years Memory
Two historical incidents that deepened the friendship between Japan and Turkey are connected: The sinking of the Turkish frigate Ertugrul off the Japanese coast in 1890 and the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Iran in 1985.
