Turkish foundation to help foreign couples to get married

The Mehir Foundation, an organization that financially supports young people planning to marry, will hold mass wedding ceremonies for couples hoping to wed but lacking the financial means to do so in Iraq, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestine and Turkish Cyprus this year.

The Mehir Foundation, located in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, was established in 1996 by a group of businessmen and academics in the province to support young people who plan to marry but lack the financial means to do so. The foundation not only provides furniture and household appliances for the couples, but it also organizes their weddings, finds jobs for them and holds training seminars on how to achieve a successful marriage and family life.

The foundation, which takes its name from the Arabic word “mahr,” which is a compulsory part of an Islamic marriage contract — a gift of money, possessions or property made by the husband to the wife — has so far helped 9,750 couples get married since it was established. It helped 409 couples wed last year, and it plans to help two times more couples abroad as well as in Turkey this year.

The president of the foundation, Mustafa Özdemir, said the achievements of the foundation so far have had effects in and outside of Turkey. “There were also many foreign couples we helped get married in Turkey last year. This made us think why not expand our activities abroad. With both Konya and Turkey becoming more prominent with every passing year, it was out of the question for our foundation to remain local,” he said. He added that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his wife, Sare Davutoğlu, are also expected to attend some of the wedding ceremonies abroad.