Ahmet Düzgün, 77, from the Turkish Mediterranean province of Antalya, managed to fulfill the promise given to his wife to have the most beautiful tomb built in the city, 23 years after she passed away.
A retired teacher by profession, Düzgün surrounded the grave of his wife with an iron railing and placed a minaret cone on its roof using electricity sources to illuminate the space around the grave.
The man who built this unusual decoration to distinguish the grave of his partner he shared his life with for 32 years also had a tomb built for himself next to his wife’s – decorated with flags and flowers and the inscription reading: "Attention, do not touch electricity."
The tomb, which had been painted and decorated with a flag and lighting system by Düzgün, attracts attention with its mausoleum-like appearance.
Düzgün, who inscribed the names of his wife and himself on the railings, used a 12-meter-long cable pulled from the lighting pole in the Uncali Cemetery to light the family grave.
The warning signs with the words: "Careful, don't touch the electricity," and "Being monitored with a camera" can be seen hanging over the tombs. The light from the cemetery, which was illuminating the area at night disturbed the locals from time to time.
Municipality officials cut the cable when they saw that the electricity was being connected to the family cemetery from the lighting pole.
Düzgün, who was told that the arrangement he made was illegal due to the illegal use of electricity, continued using unauthorized electricity in the family grave at least three times despite the warnings.
The elder man who regularly pays visits to the grave stated that he placed the warning signs for the purpose of preventing the paint, brush and hardware that he used from being stolen. He noted that he hung the warning to deter those who came for theft.
Expressing that he had a tomb built for his wife out of love, Düzgün said: "My marriage with my wife was very happy. We were married for 32 years, there was not even a small problem between us. That's why I promised my wife to build the most beautiful tomb when she passed away. I fulfilled my promise after 23 years."
"I made a mausoleum. I had my wife's grave prepared for my own grave as well. I made the cemetery out of wrought-iron railing. I want to have a lighting system, security camera and internet system built. For electricity, I pulled a cable from the lighting pole. The municipality cut the electricity cable," he said.
