Turkish blind couple ties knot, guests welcomed at metro station's dark hall

An awareness-raising marriage ceremony took place in an exhibition hall at Istanbul's Gayrettepe station yesterday, where a visually-impaired couple tied the knot. The guests, witnesses and registrar all received a welcome in a dark hall at the Dialogue in the Dark Museum, where visitors enter the world of blind people and are led by visually-impaired guides during their visit.

Geylani Akçay, 23, a visually-impaired museum guide and theater actor and his wife Ronahi Diker, 21, who he met on stage two years ago and fell in love, wanted to marry in a dark hall to have guests experience a day in the life of blind people. "I met my wife in a play. She was among the audience and came to say that she was also interested in becoming a theater actor. We then got closer," Akçay said. He also proposed to his wife on the theater stage. "When the play ended, I asked her if she wanted to marry me in front of the audience. Viewers first thought it was part of the play, they could not believe it," he continued.

Beyoğlu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan acted as marriage registrar, while Metro Istanbul A.Ş. General Manager Kasım Mutlu and museum sponsor Turkcell's Deputy General Manager İsmail Bütün were among the guests. "Even if for a single day, the marriage ceremony raised awareness about the life of the visually-impaired and their hardships. They are here to show how they are happy even though they have physical impairments. It is quite exciting," Demircan said.

Instead of going with large wedding halls, couples in Istanbul can now organize their big day at the city's metro stations following an announcement by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality that metro stations can be used as venues for wedding ceremonies a couple of weeks ago.

The first wedding took place on Oct. 30 at the Haliç Metro Station, which is just above the Golden Horn and connects the districts of Fatih and Beyoğlu. The couple and guests took the Yenikapı metro at noon to get to the ceremony. Istanbul's Marmaray metro, a subterranean rail system crossing the Bosporus Strait, is also available for such receptions.