Moments of Happiness: Stories from Turkey & Syria

I’m sure there are very few people, if anyone, who has not seen or heard the news of the heartbreaking earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. and the heartbreaking impact it caused. I wanted to do something to help. but was limited in what I can do. So I decided to use my skills where I can; my skill being writing.

To raise money to help the efforts in Turkey & Syria, I am going to write and use my blog to share stories from others related to Turkey & Syria; for the full details of this, please see all my social media where I put out posts calling for people to get involved. If anyone is reading this and wants to get involved, I’ll share all the information again at the end of this post, so you can also look there.

Essentially, for every story someone sends me to share, I’ll donate £1 to either Choose Love or the Disasters Emergency Committee. And then additionally, for every read this post gets, I’ll donate another £1. It may not sound like a lot, but the idea is lots of people get involved and read and thus the donation amount increases. Luckily for me, people have been keen to get involved, or if they can’t share this with people who do want to. Just to mention – those who have sent me stories, I have not edited or adjusted their words in any way. I’ve just copied and pasted them here so their stories remain very much in their own words and with their hearts and emotions at the centre of it all.

Now, without any further ado, here are some beautiful stories and moments of happiness I have been sent about Turkey & Syria.

My Story (Leyla Demirel)
When I was deciding on what to share, I found myself really struggling with what to share. With me being half Turkish and going there to visit and see family for as long as I can remember, I have countless stories, memories and things I want to share and talk about. As this will hopefully become a series, I will of course share more in the future, but. for my first one, O thought about where to start, and. for me – it’s where all my associations, stories, memories start and finish, what everything about that country centralises around for me: family. My dad is Turkish, were he not – who knows how different my life may be. Going to Turkey? It’s all about what we will take. to give the family, who we will see and when. We always stay with my family in their village for the first week and then spend the second week in a city where we see more of the family who have since moved there.

My memories of eating the most delicious food ever links back to family; either cooked by my ebe (also babaanne – grandmother) or halamlar (aunties) and kuzenler (cousins) or eaten in the town. The most beautiful warm pitta bread, the mouth-watering beans and rice, olives, crispy simit bread, of course, kebabs, menemen (look it up, it’s amazing and a go-to meal of mine). Drinking the sharp and crisp Dimes cherry juice? I see it as we are sat in the summer sun, shading ourselves under the trees in our house in the village, drinking that to refresh ourselves and really savouring the taste. Baklava, aka the best dessert ever? Handmade by my halamlar, and finding space for it even though you’re so full of food you could just fall asleep. And don’t even get me started on çay; when I drink çay, that for me is the feeling of home, of safety. Turkish tea is one of my all time favourite things ever. When we eat at home, we are all sat together around the table and we are laughing at everything and nothing, just enjoying each others company and the best food we could ask for. When we eat out and in the town, we can be sat in a luscious green park, in a cafe or by the calming and mesmerising river and a mini waterfall as you hear the mosque calling for prayer, family are always there. I cannot imagine myself eating Turkish food and not picture them being with me.

I’ve talked a lot about food but there’s so much more – but I have to be careful not to give too much away – what will I share in the future otherwise? I could talk about the sounds of Turkey, the feeling of the sun on my face or how I feel there emotionally, places I’ve been that I’ve enjoyed or that are special, or fun moments with my family… but not today. For now, I’ll leave you with my piece on food and family. And now, I’m off to make some çay!

Abbie’s Story
I have this photo which is from the time I took a boat trip with a friend who lives in Turkey – his name is Serkan but idk if you can put that? I guess it’s not including his surname? Anyway, every year we would go out from Didim and spend the whole day on the boat – I would usually eat like 3 pretzels, are they called Simit? I would also devour pistachios 😂

Anonymous Story
Marmaris
Lots of mosquitoes
Lots of Germans
But it was a beautiful place to visit
Went to some calcium pools
Pamukale
Not sure if that’s how u say it
Like natural hot tubs
Was beautiful
People were super friendly

Ela’s Story
Merhaba, my name is Ela. I’m proudly half Turkish currently living in Lebanon. The earthquake was only 4.7 here, but I very quickly heard the news of Turkey and Syria suffering a 7.8 earthquake. I immediately felt sick, without even checking how far it had spread, I contacted my family in Turkey. I was relieved to hear they were safe. However, the pain in my chest remained. Everyday I’m checking the news, seeing the number of dead rise; a piece of me breaks. My heart yearns for the families that have lost loved ones, that have had their lives destroyed. Many of those affected were Syrian refugees, now suffering even more loss and tragedy. After my stay in Lebanon, I hope to travel to Turkey offer my help where it is needed. Please don’t forget the devastation this has caused.

Alex Clement’s Story
I went to Turkey twice for a family holiday, a long time ago when I was around 11/12, once to Bodrum and the other to Kalkan. It was a great holiday both times and I’m always looking back at them with such nostalgia. The people we met were incredible; kind, entertaining, funny and warm. One night we were at a restaurant and the waiter came up to us and said to my dad smiling “oh you look like Jim Carrey!”. We all giggled as my dad had never been told that before. It’s such a small memory but somehow it’s been stuck in my brain and I’ve never forgotten it. One day towards the end of our holiday in Kalkan, the DJ at the bar suddenly put on a song by The Doors. My dad turned around and couldn’t believe it. This band is his all time favourite and he saw the DJ smiling at him and my dad smiled back. The first night they were chatting and my dad forgot he had told the DJ about this band. Fast forward to the end and here is was, playing it just for my dad. It was incredible to see my dad’s face light up. Another memory I have of when we were in Bodrum was of this restaurant which I don’t know if is still there or not unfortunately, but it’s called The Jasmine Garden and they were honestly THE nicest guys. We went there every night because we just found the place we wanted to eat. We didn’t go anywhere else for 2 weeks because we couldn’t. We felt so at home and even though I had the same few dishes, I didn’t care. The staff (and the owner!!) looked after us and it’s a memory I’ll cherish forever ❤️

Ely’s Story
I visited Turkey only last year, and even though I went to a largely tourist-based area due to it being a family-style trip, I was still blown away with the countryside and sights that I saw. It has made me want to go back and see more of the locals’ favourite sights and explore more of the ‘lesser known’ areas.

We were welcomed by everyone there and the homely atmosphere really overtook the ‘tourist’ vibe of it. More than anything, people were excited to share their culture with you. Whilst I’m a picky eater, my brother tried the more traditional dishes recommended by my friend and loved each one. 

From flying into Dalaman to our hotel in Marmaris, the drive was stunning, and the view from my balcony was genuinely breathtaking on a morning. Due to our location, the day trips we went on were more boat based, but it allowed me to see landscapes and views that I would never have even dreamt of seeing.  Actually witnessing a live turtle just living its life will stay with me forever.

The Lycian rock tombs were another highlight that to see, I wish that I could have explored these areas more, but hopefully, when I return with like-minded people, I can.

Even without a familial or emotional tie to the areas affected, to see this beautiful country in such distress is heartbreaking.

I don’t have much to say other than to send my love to everyone affected by the earthquake and hope that all of the needed support and help is given to all in need.

A small selection of my favourite photos from my trip: (Sent in by Ely for use in this post).

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this first post, and to everyone who has read this. I hope you enjoyed reading others’ experiences and words. I have already had 4 people tell me they wish to submit for the second post which is so heartwarming to hear, I cannot wait to hear and share your words and photos.

Edit: At the time this post was written, the second and third earthquakes (20.02.2023) had not yet hit. These two extra earthquakes have caused further damage and loss of lives and destruction to Turkey and Syria. So please, keep these countries and all the people in your thoughts and help where you can.

If anyone wants to get involved, below is the relevant information, both in the image and the text – the writing is the same for both but both have been included so you can read however is easiest. Please contact me via social media or the contact me page on this blog to contribute, and please share this with anyone you think may wish to join in too.

Friends, we’ve all seen what’s happened in Turkey & Syria and what an awful impact it’s had in every way. I want to help by fundraising. I can’t do much, but I can write. So I’m going to do just that. Send me stories about or related to Turkey and/or Syria to share on my blog. You don’t have to be Turkish or Syrian heritage to do this, it’s open to anyone & everyone who wants. You can choose for me to declare it’s *your* story on my blog or keep it anonymous. The entry can be as short or long as you want; a 3-line poem or a 3000-word essay, no minimum or maximum. I won’t edit anything, it will be your words as they’re sent to me. If you don’t want to write, send me a photo with a line about the photo – where is it, what’s happening, how did you feel? I don’t care if it’s past, present, future, about you, family, holidays, your favourite food, the trees or just about how much you love çay. Just make it relate to Turkey and/or Syria somehow. For every story I am sent & post on my blog, I will donate £1 to the fundraising, and for every view the blog post gets, I’ll donate £1 for that too. There’s no deadline. I’ll keep doing this as long as I get entries, so it may be compiled in one post or a few. £1 per story and £1 per view may not sound like a lot but I’m hoping lots of people will join in. If this flops & no one does it, that’s okay – I tried and I will share my own story & donate whatever amount anyway. Please share this far and wide to anywhere and anyone you think may want to send me something. You can DM me or reply to this or whatever suits you. Thank you 🙏🏽❤️