Sitki Yildiz
13 January 2021•Update: 13 January 2021
YALOVA, Turkey
A Turkish granny spent her time during the coronavirus quarantine knitting wool socks for Turkish soldiers to keep them warm.
Living in Turkey’s northwestern Yalova province, Zeliha Barlas knitted 115 pairs of socks for the Turkish soldiers who are guarding the nation under harsh winter conditions.
Her son Cafer Barlas informed the Turkish National Defense Ministry about his mother’s effort.
A group of Turkish soldiers visited the granny aged more than 100 at her home and gifted a Turkish flag.
An immigrant from Caucasus, his mother settled in Mus, eastern Turkey, the son said and added that his father served in the Turkish army for four years in the Sarikamis district of eastern Kars province.
“She knows the troubles he and the soldiers had at that time. She is constantly knitting socks,” he added.
The elderly woman continued to knit socks during the coronavirus lockdown, her son said.
One day she asked him to send the socks to the soldiers, and her son contacted Turkish officials.
“My mother was happy like a child when she learned what we did. She also left a letter among the socks explaining her feelings,” he added.
She is 117-years-old according to her ID card, her son said.
*Writing by Handan Kazanci
