ANKARA
British singer Yusuf Islam, also known as Cat Stevens, was hosted at Anadolu Agency's headquarters for an exclusive podcast.
He was welcomed in the Turkish capital Ankara by Oguz Enis Peru, the agency's deputy director, and Oguz Karakas, the agency’s project management coordinator on Sunday.
During the podcast, the world famous artist spoke about his first performance in Türkiye last week as part of the Turkish Culture Road Festival.
"I said, I would, Inshallah, one day I would play in Turkey. And so I wanted to fulfill that promise. And now after my first concert, I feel very, very, very good and very relaxed," he said.
He said the money raised from his concerts in Türkiye would be donated to Peace Train, an initiative of the Yusuf Islam Foundation, which helps to feed people in need and spread peace around the world.
"Peace Train has turned into an initiative that I tried to feed people because I base it on the saying of the Prophet peace be upon him, feed people and spread peace, and how can you have peace if you're starving?" he added.
Praising the milestones Türkiye has achieved since the 80s, he said: "I have seen that it is inspirational for me because we have a center in the UK, we are trying to develop also.
"We call it the Maqam Center, based on the place where Ibrahim, you know, began to build the Kaaba called Maqam Ibrahim and we want to make that a beautiful center and we've been very inspired by the buildings that we've seen in Turkey. We have a Turkish architect also to help us."
Also, Islam met his fans at the CSO Ada Ankara.
He left a mark during the 1960s and 1970s with his music. The singer converted to Islam in 1977, changing his name to Yusuf Islam.
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