251 people lost their lives being target putschist on July 15, 2016 in Turkey. Some were targeted by warplanes, some targeted by bullets, others were martyred under the tracks of tanks.

Türkan Türkmen Tekin, 47, a married and mother of three children, originally from Malatya, one of the heroic women who went out on July 15 in order to repel the coup attempt. Her husband Ramazan Tekin told ILKHA correspondents what they lived that night.

Ramazan Tekin, who could not forget what he lived that night, said, “I saw people were fleeing to the right and left. When I saw the tank I shocked. I directed my wife to the left side in order to nothing happen to her. I thought she would be saved if she could jump to the barrier side. Traitors crushed people in left side. I run towards my wife. She was laying on the ground…”

As soon as she heard that the Atatürk Airport was occupied by the putschist, Türkan Türkmen Tekin, who walked for miles and stood in front of the tanks, first went to Esenler District Security Directorate with her husband Ramazan Tekin. They took a walk with people gathered here towards Ataturk Airport. Walking on the road in the front row, Türkan Tekin was seriously wounded by crushing under the tank where the coup troops were driving. Tekin, who was taken to the hospital with the help of people around, was martyred here.

Türkan Tekin, a good teacher of the Qur'an, had to leave the school in the third grade of primary school due to the headscarf ban.

Talking about the life of Martyr Türkan Tekin and the July 15 night, Ramazan Tekin said that his wife lived like a martyr and that she martyred in the end of her life.

She had to leave school at the beginning of her education due to headscarf ban

Ramazan Tekin stated that his wife ended her education life in primary school because of headscarf ban. Afterwards, she sacrificed herself to Quran.

“Türkan, studied until third grade in primary school. After the third grade, she wanted to continue to the school with her headscarf but she was not allowed so she had to leave the school. Then aimed at learning the Qur'an. She was both reading and teaching the Qur'an until the age of 21. She is in the same place with my sister and then we were married. She wanted to have our wedding day in the mosque. Therefore, we made our wedding in the mosque with Quran and prayers. She always wanted to go to Hajj and Umrah and I said, ‘we will go when our financial situation got better.”

“I was seeing her reading Quran sometimes when I woke up at midnight”

Tekin tells that his wife was always reading the Qur'an and she teaches to those who want to learn, in days and nights, saying, “She was teaching Quran in the surrounding. She was teaching in days and nights to those who wants to learn the Qur'an. She was eager to teach even a single letter. She was saying to me, ‘when we have children, we must teach them Quran, so they can read Surah al-Fatiha after we gone’. Thankfully, she taught Quran to our 3 children. It happened how she said. Now our children read Qur’an after her. My wife would read the Qur'an for 7 days and 24 hours. I was seeing her reading Qur’an sometimes when I woke up at midnights.”

“She would prefer to walk and hand her bus money to needy people”

Tekin also said that his wife was a charitable person and said, “She would feed people around, whoever needed. She would prefer to walk and give her bus money to needy people. She was always in rush for needy people. She loved to visit elders and sick people.”

“My wife opened to door of plentifulness, heaven then she gone”

Tekin, who also quoted the life sections with his wife Türkan, said, “I took Türkan to a park before July 15. She told me that we had come here when we first got engaged and that we are coming now. She had shopping one week before July 15. She bought many things could not fit to the house. She bought more than 2- 3 times, than we needed. I asked why you tired yourself that much. She I answered that we will not buy for the next month. My wife opened the door of plentifulness and heaven then she has gone.”

“She performed ablution and a two-rakat prayer before she left home”

Narrating July 15 night and the moments of his wife martyred, Ramazan Tekin said:

“We were sitting at home that night. My older child was out. My little girl at 12 was sleeping at home. At 22.30-23.00, we got a phone call from a relative and said, ‘there is a coup outside’. We immediately turned on the TV and started to look at the news. My wife said, ‘Let's go,’' I said, ‘Let's sit a little bit’, she said, ‘No, let's go.’ My wife performed ablution and a two-rakat prayer before she left the house. She gave room-key to my older sister and said, ‘our house first trust to Allah then to you.’ My sister told me this one month later.”

Tekin continued as follows: “We were asking to people standing on their balconies ‘come down to streets, there is a coup,’ and continued our walking with our flag. We went to the square but there were no one there. We continued walking and praying. We walked till Esenler police headquarter. People gathered there after we went there. We were happy because we were alone while walking. After we arrived Esenler District police Department, they said that our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would come to Atatürk Airport. So we started walking again, we walked a lot. Then we went walking on highway. Normally there were many cars on that road but there were just a few, which made me happy. We were very crowded. Our people clamped together. There were a mass flag we used to follow it. Then I gave the flag to another in order to walk with my wife. I took my phone to video that great image. However, I could not. I asked my wife to sit for a bit, she didn’t let us.”

“We continued walking,” said Tekin continued his words, and then stated that they met with the tanks and expressed the moments as follows:

“The people were shouting at the overpass ‘tanks are coming’, but we continued walking because we couldn’t see them. Then I noticed people are running away to the right, and left. Then I look at that a tank is coming. I was shocked. I froze when I saw the tank. I directed my wife to the left side in order to nothing happen to her. I thought she would save herself if she could jump over the barriers. I have not seen something like that when I saw them traitors. Traitors crushed people on left side. I ran towards my wife. I was laying on the ground. I hugged her. I was hit by head. I begged her to give a voice, but there was not. Her body was warm but couldn’t speak due to the hit on her head. I was going to take her to hospital but how? All road were closed by people. I asked Allah for help, to open a way so I could take my wife to hospital.”

“My son, when heard his mother was martyred, got up and performed 2-rakat prayers”

Tekin, who explains the painful moments of the family and the hustle and bustle after his wife was wounded, continued as follows:

“A car stopped by and we took my wife into the car and took her to hospital. Normally we could not reach to hospital in 10- 15 minutes but we were there in 4 minutes. Allah has helped us. Doctors sent us to the research hospital. We took her there with ambulance. The surgery took 2 hours. We were expecting that my wife would survive, we were praying. My son phoned me but I could not answer. He then phoned his mom so the mom also could not answer and finally he phoned his uncle. His uncle told him that we are in hospital and his mom has wounded. My son did not believe. Later then after he heard that his mom is martyred, he performed 2-rakat prayer. ‘My mother reached what she wanted,’ he says. They did not take us in for 2 hours. After 2 hours, after I went in, I begun to search my wife. ‘Your wife is martyred,’ said one of the doctor. I fell on my knees. I asked that I want to see my wife. They took me to the morgue. I could not say nothing to my children. When my youngest child about her mother, I said, she is in hospital. I had to hide until afternoon. They saw then when the funeral came to the door. Our youngest child was sleeping home when my wife left the home. She said nothing and gone.”

Emphasizing that he is proud to be a martyr's husband, Tekin said that President Erdoğan phoning them once a month and said:

“The government never leave us alone, even if the President calls us once a month. Allah may be pleased with all. We trust the state that they will give heaviest punishment to those who did this. Those who do this on July 15 are not soldiers, they are traitors. We will never bend to traitors.”

Türkan Türkmen Tekin has left a sad husband and 3 children behind

Türkan Türkmen Tekin, one of the women who went to the streets on July 15 to repulse the US-backed coup attempt. She walked with her family as soon as she heard that Ataturk Airport was occupied by the putschists. Türkan Tekin, who was at the front on the road, was seriously wounded by the tank where the coup troops crashed people. Tekin, who was taken to the hospital with the help of people around, was martyred here. At the age of 43, Türkan Tekin left a sad husband with 20-year-old Berkay, 18-year-old Buket and 11-year-old Sümeye named 3 children. 

ILKHA