City of Giresun holds key to longevity

Giresun, a northern city in Turkey's Black Sea region, was revealed to have the highest life expectancy at birth in a recent report released by Turkish statistical agency TurkStat. At 78.9 years, the city's population boasts a longer life than people in other regions. For the city's senior population, the secret of longevity lies with a lifetime spent on the high plateaus of Giresun with abundant fresh air and healthy, nutritious food. Most people spend their summer on plateaus where they drink clean water from its natural sources instead of filtered water, feed on the meat of livestock bred in natural ways and eat a special type of bread. These are what they see as key to a long life. For Necati Çetin, 75, another factor to longevity is that people of Giresun live far from stress. "You lead a long life without stress, by eating the right food, eating less and regularly walking," he says. "You shouldn't worry about life if you want to live long. Most people devastate themselves when they lose their loved ones. I don't. I didn't tear myself apart after my wife died for instance," he said. Hayrullah Bilir, 108, puts abstaining from alcohol on the list of things that contributes to longevity. "I feed on the produce of my livestock. For dairy, I had cattle I raised myself without commercial fertilizer or any other synthetic things. I also eat cabbage and beans. This is what has made my life longer," he said.