TRT Haber’s “Ömür Dediğin” program features Turkish Minority families in Western Thrace

The popular TRT Haber program “Ömür Dediğin,” produced by Zeliha İlhan Doymuş, recently filmed new episodes in Western Thrace, highlighting the lives and stories of Turkish minority families. Among the featured guests were two families from Xanthi, chosen for their rich cultural heritage and connection to the region.

Producer Zeliha İlhan Doymuş shared her experiences with TRT Komotini reporter Necat Ahmet, expressing her admiration for the region’s preservation of traditional values. She noted, “Maintaining national and spiritual values unchanged over generations is rare, and here it’s deeply moving to witness.”

The program’s Western Thrace episodes include an interview with Ibrahim Serif, the elected Mufti whose contributions to minority rights have been widely recognized. Additional segments were filmed in the village of Kirkoy, home to a family that has lived in the same place for four generations, and with an Afro-Turk who settled in the area during the Ottoman era and has become a local icon.

Doymuş, who has visited the region multiple times, remarked on the warm and close-knit community atmosphere, particularly the traditional extended family structure that includes grandparents, parents, and children all living together. “It’s a beautiful reminder of the bonds that hold Turkish society together,” she said.

In discussing the Turkish minority’s efforts to preserve their national identity and religious values, Doymuş stated, “Even though the Ottoman Empire is long gone, the legacy of national and spiritual values remains, upheld by these people, and will continue through them.”

The “Ömür Dediğin” team completed the week-long shoot and returned to Ankara on Tuesday. The Western Thrace segments are expected to air within a month, providing viewers with an intimate look into the lives and resilience of the Turkish minority in Greece.