Wish

Istanbul's Our Lady of Vefa church, renowned for the fulfillment of wishes, has recently experienced a notable surge in attendance, offering hope to anyone who visits in search of relief from troubling times.

At the height of the financial crisis, from 2013 to 2018, there were some 450,000 inheritance rejections, resulting in hundreds of thousands of properties passing on to state ownership.

Since then they have remained unused and have dropped in value, while some of them could be utilized for tackling the housing problem the country is facing.

Tourists are flocking to St. George's Cathedral, also known as Aya Yorgi Church, in Istanbul's Büyükada, the largest of the Princes' Islands, to partake in the age-old wish-making practices.

Hundreds of Istanbul residents flocked to a Greek-Orthodox church on Dec. 1, just like the first day of each month, to make wishes in the hope for them to come true.

People of all faiths come in scores to visit the Ayın Biri Kilisesi, which literally means the "Church of the First Day of the Month" in English, to make a wish.

A cafe owner from the Black Sea province of Çorum threw a wish bottle full of messages his customers had penned down into the Mediterranean Sea on April 1, praying that all their wishes come true.

"There were some 2,000 messages collected in three years in our wish bottle," said Levent Turan, the owner of Kahve Leb-i.

The wishing walls of the house of the Virgin Mary in ?zmir's Selçuk district are full of interesting wishes, such as a car that doesn't overheat and has good handling, as well as other wishes reflecting those of society for peace, wealth and happiness.