Lifesavers top list of heroes in Turkey

1) Tuğçe Albayrak


A 22-year-old student of Turkish-descent, Tuğçe Albayrak, went into a coma on Nov. 15 after she intervened between three men who were harassing two women in a restaurant in the German city of Offenbach. After doctors pronounced her brain dead after two weeks in a coma, her parents decided to take her off of life support on Nov. 28, her 23rd birthday. Hundreds of Germans attended the funeral. (Click here to read more about this story)


2) Şükrü Deniz


A cleaning worker in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir, Şükrü Deniz, caught a 4-year-old girl who fell from a seventh floor window on Nov. 28, saving her life while risking his own. After he was declared a hero on Turkish social media, Deniz said “a thank you message was enough” for him as a prize. (Click here to read more about this story)


3) Bünyamin Aygün


Turkey-born Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of the U.S.-based Chobani Greek Yogurt, was a rare international figure who stood up to send humanitarian help to Kobane, the Kurdish town besieged by jihadists on Syria’s border with Turkey. He personally donated $2 million for the cause and urged the world through mainstream U.S. media to help Syrian refugees. (Click here to read more about this story)


5) Kıymet Peker


A 75-year-old woman, Kıymet Peker, stopped construction at a local park in the northwestern province of Edirne by sitting in front of the bulldozer on April 1. The Edirne Administrative Court marked Peker’s victory over the municipality by issuing an order for a stay of execution the following day. The park, a rare green space for local children to play, is now saved. (Click here to read more about this story)