Mystery patron rises again, this time in Istanbul’s Tuzla district

ISTANBUL

A mystery patron, who has been handing out thousands of Turkish Liras for months to residents of Istanbul’s districts, has reemerged with many households in Istanbul’s Tuzla district having now received donations.

“I asked what his name was. He said, ‘Call me Robin Hood, that will be enough,” said Coşkun Yılmaz, the owner of a local grocery store in the neighborhood.

The anonymous donor, who also has been dubbed the “mystery boss,” is regarded as “Hızır” (meaning Godsent) among Istanbul residents.

He started to give thousands of liras endowed in envelopes to disadvantaged households and individuals in March.

A group of people started to hand out the donations at night, on behalf of him, to Istanbul’s Hasköy district.

This time, a man arrived in Tuzla’s Şifa and Mimar Sinan neighborhoods and paid the debts of every neighborhood resident by visiting local grocery stores.

After clearing the debts, he traveled around the neighborhood and handed out the donations, endowed in envelopes.

He also gave students 50 liras (around $9) of pocket money.

“I have been a shop owner here for almost 30 years. Yesterday, a citizen we did not recognize came. He said that he will pay the debts of people who are unable to make ends meet. This is the first time I have seen such a thing happening here in 30 years,” said Tuncay Yaşar, another local grocery store owner.

Yaşar said that some residents wanted to see the mystery man since they were delighted by his donations.