Turkish couple spend wedding day giving out food to displaced Syrians

Turkish couple spend wedding day giving out food to displaced Syrians

The Turkish couple wanted to celebrate their wedding in a special way.

Mr Fethullah Uzumcuoglu and his bride Esra Polat did not invite the town's elite. Instead, they invited about 4,000 Syrian refugees for a meal, The Telegraph reported.

Their wedding was held in the southern Turkish city of Kilis near the Syrian border.

The newlyweds pooled the money they received from their families to host the party.

There are over 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, a fallout of the civil war which began four years ago.

In Kilis, there are about 4,000 of them who are taken care of by Kimse Yok Mu, a Turkish charity which provides help to millions across the world.

The idea of sharing their special day with those less fortunate came from the groom's father, Mr Ali Uzumcuoglu.

He told Serhat Kilis newspaper that he hoped others would do the same and share their wedding celebrations with the Syrian refugees.

He said: "We thought that on such a happy day, we would share the wedding party with our Syrian brothers and sisters.

"We thought this was best done with Kimse Yok Mu who could provide a truck. God willing, this will lead to others doing the same and giving food to our Syrian brothers and sisters. For us, it was an interesting wedding dinner."

The Turkish charity tweeted two photos of the couple on Monday, and the images quickly spread on Instagram and Facebook, the Washington Post reported.

A spokesman for the charity told the Post that the father is an active volunteer with the organisation.

'SELFLESS'

"I'm very happy that he (the son) accepted it and they started their new happy journey with such a selfless action," the father said, according to charity spokesman Hatice Avci.

The bride, Mrs Polat, told UK news site i100 that it was a wonderful experience and she was happy to share the meal with those in need.

She said: "I was shocked when Fethullah first told me about the idea, but afterwards I was won over by it.

"It was such a wonderful experience. I'm happy that we had the opportunity to share our wedding meal with the people who are in real need."

The groom added: "Seeing the happiness in the eyes of the Syrian refugee children is just priceless."

 


This article was first published on Aug 06, 2015.
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