Atilla Bey, the pharmacist, sat watching a soap opera on TV while his middle school daughter Serpil sat in front of her notebook, writing and repeating aloud:
"Four akçe per day to the herbal medicine specialist... Three akçe per day to each of the two workers who grind the herbs into powder... Four akçe per day to the warehouse keeper ensuring the preservation of ointments and syrups... Four akçe per day to anyone tasked with procuring materials for the hospital..."
Then she turned. She asked her father, who was lounging with his legs crossed, watching TV:
"Ugh... Dad, what does 'akçe' mean?"
"What akçe, dear? Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
"It's written here. It's homework..."
"Alright, let me see what this homework is about."
Serpil handed her father the photocopy paper. Atilla Bey started reading the text from top to bottom before realizing it was related to his profession:
"Oh, this is a text related to pharmacy," he said... "Who gave you this?"
"Our history teacher..."
Atilla Bey was familiar with his daughter's history teacher... He smiled... Then turned to his daughter:
"Alright, honey, I got the message. I'll talk to your teacher tomorrow..."
The next day, in the school courtyard, pharmacist Atilla Bey met with the history teacher and discussed the Sultan Süleyman Han Foundation established in Istanbul:
The teacher said, "I'm not kidding, Atilla Bey," as he explained, "at that time, the foundation's hospital had hired a total of 26 staff members, including three general practitioners, two ophthalmologists, two surgeons, one pharmacist, two drug manufacturers, one syrup manufacturer, one pharmacy storekeeper, one accountant, one gatekeeper, two cooks, one meal service attendant, four security guards, two cleaners, two laundry workers, and one barber. They calculated the salary each of them would receive."
Atilla Bey replied with a mocking smile, "We also say medicine has progressed, don't we?"
With gratitude and reverence, we remember the founders of the foundation established in Istanbul in 1547 under the name of Sultan Süleyman.