Translator: Sümeyye Nur Oflaz
Where do you think the best friendships start? In Primary school? In College? I found my best friend in a very different place; in Sulaymaniyah. Here is the story of how I met Laura from Scotland.
I met Laura and David, who were close friends, in the Sulaymaniyah Mosque. I first told them about the history and architecture of the mosque, then about Islam. We had a conversation on these topics for about 2-3 hours. Then we heard the adhan, and David prayed in the congregation despite being an atheist. He says that he remembers the praying experience to this day, by the way. Anyway, later in our conversation, I learned that they were volunteers who took care of refugees. It turned out helping people was the common ground that would make us feel closer.
After they left Turkey, Laura and I kept in touch via Facebook, texting each other on special occasions. Two years after we met, I decided to do an internship in London, and Laura searched for various alternatives for me in Scotland. When I arrived, she took great care of me and my friends; drove us around, cooked for us, and hosted us in her house. After all, a conversation that had started years ago made me a friend in a whole other country. To me, this is the best part of talking to people regardless of who they are and making an effort to spread the word.
This article was originally written in Turkish. Click to read it! Süleymaniye’den Edinburgh’a Uzanan Arkadaşlık
