Women, men walk down ‘Lovers Street’ to find spouse in Turkey’s Çanakkale

ÇANAKKALE

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Hoping to find “the one,” thousands of unattached men and women promenaded along the 1,500-meter-long “Lovers Street” in the northwestern province of Çanakkale on May 7 in an effort to find a future mate, Doğan News Agency has reported.

“We organize this event every year to say hello to spring with farmers. While we were praying and preparing meals, our youth walk on ‘Lovers Street.’ At least 5,000 people participated in the event. A group of 1,000 youth walked on the street. Every year, 15-20 couples meet on the street and their relationship results in marriage. But this is not a dating TV show,” said İsa Korkmaz, the muhtar of Muratlar village, adding that the tradition was started by their forefathers.

The tradition, which has been going for 73 years, started with a lunch in Çanakkale’s Muratlar village. A prayer was said before the lunch and walk, while “keşkek,” a dish of mutton or chicken and coarsely ground wheat, was served to guests from at least 80 boiler pots.

A large number of women and men donned their best clothes to walk along the path in the hopes of finding a spouse.

Couples who married last year after walking down the path also returned this year for a spot of nostalgia.

But it was not just young people looking for love that walked on the path, as many others of all ages also came to take part in the tradition in the hopes of finding the right match.

“I wanted to walk on Lovers Street because I am a bachelor. I wanted to find a spouse for me,” said one of the walkers, 50-year-old Ali Yılmaz.