The Deacon's Bench
A Turkish couple who got married last week invited 4,000 Syrian refugees to celebrate with them.
Fethullah Üzümcüoğlu and Esra Polat tied the knot in Kilis province on the Syrian border, which is currently home to thousands of refugees fleeing conflict in the neighbouring country.
It’s traditional for Turkish weddings to last between Tuesday to Thursday, culminating in a banquet on the last night, but this couple decided they wanted a celebration with a difference.
Hatice Avci, a spokesperson for aid organisation Kimse Yok Mu, told i100.co.uk that the charity feeds around 4,000 refugees who live in and around the town of Kilis, but last Thursday the newlyweds donated the savings their families had put together for a party to share their wedding celebrations with the refugees living nearby instead.
It was the groom’s father, Ali Üzümcüoğlu, who originally had the idea to share a bit of wedding joy with those less fortunate.
“I thought that sharing a big delicious dinner with our family and friends was unnecessary, knowing that there are so many people in need living next door,” he said. “So I came up with this idea and shared it with my son. I’m very happy that he accepted it and they started their new happy journey with such a selfless action.”
Read it all and see more pictures.
Additional coverage here.
Photo via Kimse Yok Mu
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