A 35-year-old Russian man is traveling across Türkiye while playing guitar in the streets to raise 1 million Russian rubles ($11,768), the amount his girlfriend says he must save before she will marry him.
Nikolay Gromkov entered Türkiye from Georgia and is making his way toward Istanbul, stopping in cities along the route to perform for passersby and collect donations. His latest stop is Çarşamba district in Samsun, on Türkiye’s northern Black Sea coast, where he plays guitar on the historic Çarşamba Bridge.
Gromkov said he met the woman by chance and fell in love with her after they traveled together for some time.
“We traveled together for a while, and I fell in love with her. She told me she would marry me if I saved 1 million Russian rubles. So I set out on the road to save this money,” he said.
Gromkov said he uses street performances to cover his travel expenses while working toward his savings target. He also carries a handwritten note explaining his story to people passing by.
Gromkov estimates that 1 million rubles is equivalent to around TL 600,000 and has calculated how many people he needs to support his goal.
“I need to save around TL 600,000. All I need is for 6,000 people to support me with TL 100 each. Then I will reach my goal and find happiness,” he said.
He said Çarşamba was one of the stops along his route to Istanbul and that he plans to continue playing guitar in the cities he passes through until he reaches his target.
