Turkish man self-isolates in truck amid pandemic

GÜMÜŞHANE – Demirören News Agency

A 44-year-old man in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Gümüşhane has isolated himself in his truck in order to avoid being infected with the novel coronavirus.

Volkan Sarı, who makes a living as a truck driver, purchased an old truck haulage five years ago for camping purposes.

For his quest into the nature, Sarı turned the old truck into a 12-meter-square tiny frame house. Timber frame houses are common in Black Sea provinces and make up much of the region’s rural architecture.

Sarı’s 12-square-meter home has everything a regular sized residence has, including beds for five people, a refrigerator, a heating stove with an oven and a water supply tank. Sarı says it took him two months to transform the truck into a house.

After the COVID-19 outbreak emerged, Sarı decided to use this tiny house to protect himself, and his family, from the virus. He is currently staying at his isolation house with his wife and two children.

Before the Sarı family moved to their new residence, they were staying at the Karamustafa village of Gümüşhane.

“The truck was abandoned to its fate. I bought it at a tempting price and repaired it through my own means,” Sarı said.

“We used to camp in the nature [with the truck], but now we are using it to protect [ourselves] against the coronavirus,” he said.

The Sarı family will return to their usual house in the village once the pandemic is over.

“We arrived in our garden, outside the village, with the truck. We are staying with our children,” he said.

“Hopefully, we will defeat this virus altogether,” he added.

Sarı also said everyone should take precautions to protect themselves and urged people not to leave their homes unless necessary.