Turks, Syrians from southeastern town form special bond

A sense of brotherhood resembling the early Muslims has developed between Syrians living in the southeastern province of Kilis and local Turkish residents as the number of Syrians has come to exceed the population of Turks in the town.

"Muhajir means the ones who are 'persecuted and forced to flee' while ansar means the ones who host. We are hosting our Syrian brothers just like the people of Medina hosted the Prophet Muhammad and others from Mecca who fled along with him," said Serdar Y?lmaz, a 45-year-old store owner in Kilis, in reference to verses from the Qur'an. 

Kilis, 60 kilometers from the former Syrian commercial hub of Aleppo, is Turkey's second smallest province. The town's local population is 106,293, but the number of Syrian residents has risen to 116,714, making it the city with the largest number of Syrian residents in Turkey.  

Because of the help local residents have provided for the coming Syrians, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has nominated them for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Our city was designed for a population of 115,000, the forecast total by 2023. Its infrastructure was prepared accordingly and its superstructure was to be completed accordingly. With the Syrian civil war that erupted in 2011, our population doubled," Kilis Mayor Hasan Kara said, highlighting the crowds in the town's shops, parks, restaurants and bazaars.  

In contrast to other Turkish cities of Adana and ?anl?urfa, there have been no reported clashes between the local residents of Kilis and Syrians. "People of Aleppo are not strangers to us. There have been intermarriages and a long-time trade relationship between them and us. We also have a 'muhajir-ansar' approach toward them," said Murat...