ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s president is ready to help rebuild Kirkuk’s Ottoman-era Qaysari Bazaar that was destroyed by fire on November 26.

“Our president thinks we should do all we can to help,” Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Fatih Yildiz told reporters after a visit to the bazaar on Friday.

He said that the issue is on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agenda.

“This cultural market is a piece of history from the Ottomans. And this connects us to this place. The happiness of people in this place is a priority for Turkey and we will do all that we can to protect this happiness,” Yildiz said.

The bazaar first opened in 1865. Hundreds of shops were destroyed by the fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

The provincial council has promised to provide compensation and urged the federal government and international organizations to also pitch in.

The council described the bazaar as “an example of co-existence, brotherhood, and love between the components of Kirkuk.”

Kirkuk is home to a diverse population of Turkmen, Kurds, and Arabs.

Rudaw