Abstract:

The Book of Dede Korkut is the compilation of epic stories of the Oghuz Turks, transcribed around the 15th -16th centuries by an anonymous author or compiler. One of the most influential narratives from The Book of Dede Korkut is “The Story of Bamsı Beyrek, son of Kam Büre”, an epic story featuring a “return of the hero” theme. One of the most interesting elements of the story is the development and subsequent cure of the father’s blindness. After his son is captured and disappears, Kam Büre goes blind due to excessive crying. Many years later, someone claiming to be his son returns; however, Kam Büre demanded a sort of “blood test” in order to believe that the man was his son. As Kam Büre was blind and could not recognize his son by sight, he asked the young man to drop blood from his forefinger onto a handkerchief, then rub his eyes with the wettened handkerchief. If this treatment cured his blindness, he would believe that the man was his son. The test was done and Kam Büre’s sight was restored by the application of the handkerchief wettened with blood-derived liquid to his eyes. Modern medicine recognizes that severe dry eye disease can result in vision loss. Furthermore, contemporary medical research has demonstrated that artificial tear solutions are usually an inadequate supplement for the patient’s natural tear deficiency, and that the most effective treatment for this type of severe dry eye patient is serum derived from their own blood. Treatment with “autologous serum eye drops” first appeared in the literature in 1984, and since then has gained popularity and become recognized as the most effective treatment modality for nearly all ocular surface diseases. It is extremely noteworthy that treatment with serum eye drops was described over 500 years ago in The Book of Dede Korkut. This example from modern medicine demonstrates that valuable information can be gleaned by carefully investigating and updating our written and oral cultural knowledge

Keywords: