Turks express solidarity for Greeks outside consulate in Izmir

Residents of the Turkish town of Izmir on Thursday night gathered outside the Greek Consulate to express their support for the victims of this week’s wildfires in east Attica.

Consul General Argyro Papoulia told Greece’s ANA-MPA news agency on Friday that hundreds of Turks from Izmir, most members of labor unions, had gathered outside the historic building, holding banners with expressions of support, lighting candles and laying flowers at a makeshift shrine to the victims.

“Hold strong, neighbors,” one of the banners read, echoing the sentiment of a newspaper headline in Greece from August 1999, when Turkey suffered a devastating earthquake.