Mr. Turgut Aydın, founder of the Aydın Örme Group of Companies, was born in a small village in Maçka, Trabzon in 1943. He could only finish elementary school, since he had to help his family make ends meet. Moving to Istanbul at the age of 15, he started his career in a small turnery in Sultanhamam, manufacturing towel hangers and doorknobs. He then stepped into the textile industry and founded Aydın Örme, one of Turkey's largest textile giants, in 1991. Trained in Sultanhamam, which is considered one of the few most important trade centers in Turkey offering only practical training in trade to uneducated individuals, Mr. Turgut Aydın tasted the joy of success in Sultanhamam which taught him to have an endless pretension to be the first and best.

Sultanhamam is a very important place to Turgut Aydın. He says, "I could only finish elementary school. But my real school was Sultanhamam. I owe this success of mine to those days I spent there. Sultanhamam is a place where honest and professional people come together and there is no place like that in the rest of the world. Thanks God we have Sultanhamam in Turkey"

The company founded by Mr. Turgut Aydın grew and improved rapidly. Aydın Örme now ranks among the top 500 industrial companies. However, one day, Mr. Aydın decided to set sail toward other business sectors.

Leaving the management the company to his children Yaşar Aydın, Ayhan Aydın and Aydan Aydın, he entered the health-care business sector. Establishing Memorial Hospital in 1996, Mr. Turgut Aydın has continually made investments in the health-care sector as well. Stating that they offer services with a quality level way higher than Turkish standards at Memorial, Mr. Turgut Aydın said, "This business was only a dream to me. I left Trabzon and went to Istanbul when I was a child and went through tough times for some very long time. And I have come to this position step by step."

Stating that he adopted the challenging lifestyle of the Balck Sea region as a philosophy, Mr. Turgut Aydın links his success in the health-care sector to that philosophy: "I never give up struggling. To succeed, one must work hard."

Mr. Turgut Aydın says he cooperated and worked hard with a group of idealists and achieved in bringing the Turkish Republic to this period of success with the added value of production and creation.

Being aware of his social responsibility, Mr. Turgut Aydın is contributing to childrens' education by constructing and furnishing an elementary school in Sarıgazi that will bear his name, thus paving the path for new Turgut Aydıns who will contribute to Turkey's future.

Known for his loyalty to family and moral values, Mr. Turgut Aydın mentions his wife's name, Zehra Aydın, respectfully and her contribution to his achievements.

Being among the seniorest individuals of our textile world, Mr. Turgut Aydın continues to lead and to be a role model for the Turkish business world.

Our founder, Mr. Turgut Aydın, is the Vice-Chairman of Aydın Örme San. ve Tic. A.Ş. and Chairman of Istanbul Memorial A.Ş. He has been a Board member in both Bank Asya and Asyafin Turizm Proje İnşaat Taahhüt Emlak San. ve Tic A.Ş. since 1997, and also serves as an inspector at Asyafin İnşaat Dış Tic. ve Paz. A.Ş.