A Turkish nurse from Midyat living in Italy married an Italian lawyer he met at a language course in his hometown of Midyat, in Mardin province, southeastern Türkiye. The Italian bride, who converted to Islam before the marriage, joined traditional local dances during a wedding ceremony held according to Midyat customs.
Tajdin Özmen, who works as a nurse at a health care institution in Italy, met Tamara Veronica Schriber, an Italian lawyer, while attending the same language course. After deciding to marry, the couple chose to hold their wedding in the groom's hometown of Midyat.
Schriber, who also decided to convert to Islam before the marriage, was joined on her special day by her mother, siblings, relatives and friends, who traveled from Italy for the celebration.
The wedding featured local traditions. Accompanied by the sounds of drums, the bride and groom shared their first dance before guests joined in Midyat's traditional folk dances.
Visitors from Italy also took part in the halay, creating colorful scenes during the celebration. The ceremony continued with the cutting of the wedding cake and a traditional gift presentation.
Özmen said he was delighted to celebrate his wedding in his hometown. "We are very happy to have our wedding in our beautiful Midyat. We both live in Italy, where we met at a language course. I work in health care, and my wife is a lawyer. We fell in love after meeting there. We had one wedding in Italy and another here," he said.
"I had the opportunity to experience their culture, and now I have been able to introduce them to our own culture and beautiful Midyat," he said.
Özmen noted that his wife's family and friends traveled from Italy for the wedding and were pleasantly surprised by what they found.
"They didn't know much about Midyat. They expected it to be a small village, but when they arrived, they were amazed by how many tourists visit here. They admired Midyat's culture, nature, stone architecture and history," he added.
"They loved it so much that although they came only for the wedding, they now want to return for a holiday. We have brought two cultures together. Midyat is already a city where different cultures live together in harmony, and I am proud to be from here," Özmen said.
