OPEN (NOT) FOR BUSINESS A kebab restaurant owner in southern Türkiye’s Adana province has opened up his three restaurants to survivors of Monday’s earthquakes. Salih Oral says Wednesday (Feb. 8, 2023) his restaurants provide food and tea to survivors. (Anadolu)
ADANA, Türkiye – A kebab restaurant owner in southern Türkiye’s Adana province has opened up his three restaurants to survivors of Monday’s earthquakes.
“After the first earthquake, we thought the safest place to go would be the restaurant,” Salih Oral told Anadolu.
“It was raining,” he recalled. “We saw people waiting in their cars, sitting on the pavement or just milling around without a place to go.”
Oral said he “immediately opened the doors of the restaurant and has been providing free food, soup and tea ever since.”
For the past 48 hours, people whose homes were damaged by the twin earthquakes – or destroyed – have been taking shelter in his restaurants.
Oral is also sending food to nearby cities that have been affected by the quakes, including Kahramanmaras and Hatay.
Leyla Arslan, a 65-year-old housewife, has been taking shelter in Oral’s restaurant since the first earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday.
“I panicked that I almost jumped from the balcony during the earthquake,” said Arslan. “My husband and I huddled under the front door until the tremor stopped.”
Since then, she and her husband, fearing more trembles, have been staying at one of Oral’s restaurants.
Earthquake survivor Didem Incekuran, 24, has also been staying at the restaurant since Monday.
“I know I should have found a safe spot at home during the earthquake, but I panicked; we ran downstairs,” she said.
Oral is not the only one helping out earthquake survivors. Many other cafes and restaurants in Adana have opened their doors around the clock to provide shelter for residents who lost their homes.
More than 8,000 people died from the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, struck 10 provinces and affected more than 13 million people. (Anadolu)
