Turkish man gives away free tombstones to anyone who converts dollars to liras

BURSA

A man in the northwestern province of Bursa has promised to give free tombstones away to all people who convert their U.S. dollars into Turkish Liras following a call by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Turkish citizens to convert their foreign currency to lira. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Turkish citizens to convert their foreign currency to lira. 

“We will give a tombstone worth 750 liras for free to those who convert 2,000 dollars into Turkish Liras and bring [the slip to] us,” said Enes Alan, a marble-cutter.

“We even place the tombstone in the graveyard,” he also said. 

Noting that they were launching the campaign to help contribute to the economy, Alan said he started the campaign with his father. 

“The citizens have reacted very positively to the campaign,” he said, adding that they would protect the country and the economy. 

“Several citizens came to us after converting their dollars but didn’t want to take their tombstones for free. They showed us the receipt anyways. We are attracting attention. Hopefully, our citizens will be able to solve their own problems with their own effort after this point. We’ll protect our country and our economy. We won’t abandon it,” he also said. 

During his interview, Alan said his aim was to support Edoğan’s call.

“We are doing this to defend the lira. This is our job and we can do this much. Maybe it will set an example for our compatriots. They could also show such sensitivity,” he said.