Crematorium proposed in Mediterranean province

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet Photo

A company that offers funeral services for foreigners in the Mediterranean province of Antalya has submitted a proposal to the local metropolitan municipality to construct a crematorium to process the remains of foreigners in the area, daily Hürriyet reported today.

"We have frequently had cremation requests in recent years. However, we send [bodies] to their countries because there is no possibility [of cremating them here]," said Murat Arslanoğlu, the chairman of the funeral company, Fempa. "I think Turkey will improve in subjects like tourism and human rights, if a crematory is opened. There are also demands from Turks but it is not enough."

According to the plan, which was designed in the United States, the crematorium will have the capacity of conducting three to four cremations per day. Natural gas or LPG will be used as fuel, while the bodies will be cremated at 850 degrees Celsius. There will also be monitoring rooms for families in the crematorium in addition to other cremation rooms.

The project, which is expected to cost 900,000 Turkish Liras, is currently being examined by the municipality, Hürriyet reported, citing daily Akşam as a source.

Antalya Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Akaydın has previously said that a crematorium would be useful given the decreasing amount of space in the city’s cemeteries.