A ceremony was held in front of the Manisa Metropolitan Municipality for Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek, who lost his life at the age of 48 as a result of an accident. Thousands of Manisa residents sent Mayor Zeyrek off with prayers and tears.
The first ceremony for Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Architect Ferdi Zeyrek, who passed away at Manisa Celal Bayar University Hafsa Sultan Hospital where he was receiving treatment following a tragic electrical accident, was held in front of the Manisa Metropolitan Municipality. Mayor Zeyrek's family, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Deputy Chairmans, Members of Parliament, Metropolitan, Provincial and District Mayors, political party representatives, Manisa Metropolitan Municipality and MASKİ General Directorate bureaucrats, employees, council members, civil society organizations and thousands of Manisa residents attended the ceremony, where prayers were said for Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek and forgiveness was sought.
“I saw his love for Manisa”
Manisa Metropolitan Municipality City Theater General Art Director Kubilay Penbeklioğlu read Mayor Zeyrek's CV. Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Burak Deste, who made a farewell speech for Mayor Zeyrek, said, “We met Mr. Ferdi after the elections. I met him here. I saw his love for Manisa here. I felt what a great privilege it was to work with him every passing day. He would ask for an account of every job we did, every money we spent. He would say nothing should go to waste. He would say that we should look at everything for Manisa, and first see if the work we do has any contribution or benefit to Manisa. He would visit all the personnel on every holiday and wish them each and every holiday. On his last visit, he said, ‘Get some rest. Spend time with your family because we will work hard when we return.’ He raised the flag very high. What we will do from now on is to take the flag he entrusted to us and raise it even higher. To provide Manisa with the services it deserves. To work hard.”
Nurcan Zeyrek, “He was a lover of Manisa”
Mayor Zeyrek was also given a farewell speech by his wife Nurcan Zeyrek. Zeyrek, who came to the podium with tears in her eyes, said, “He was a Manisa lover. He loved all of you very much. He was a very faithful man. He would work day and night, saying that he had a lot to do. It was always his dream; he would say that he would be the mayor. Our hands have never parted since I was 16. He would always tell me; ‘Nurcan, stand tall! We have 3 children. I gave him my word today. I will always stand tall. His heart is with me. I ask for your forgiveness. Because he was a very faithful man. I have 3 children, I will keep my promise, I will be both a mother and a father to them. I know that the prayers of all of Manisa and all of Türkiye are with us. May Allah be pleased with you all.”
Özgür Özel, “He was devoted to his wife, his children and Manisa with love”
Finally, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party, Özgür Özel, made his farewell speech. Özel, who could not hold back his tears and had difficulty speaking, said goodbye to his companion Zeyrek with the following words: “I have been speaking on the podium since I was 6 years old, with a microphone in my hand. This is probably the most difficult speech I have ever made. He was saying, 'Brother, explain it again.' I had explained the Manisa election in the group meeting. He was saying, 'Brother, explain it again, you explain it well.' When our mayoral candidate Deniz Baykal got sick and withdrew in 2009, he asked me to run for Manisa 40 days before. I said, 'That election has long gone, we are late. We cannot win Manisa.' He said, 'You can win.' I said, 'General Chairman, how can we win 6 percent of the votes in the previous election?' He said, 'You will win, not in this election, but you will win the Manisa Municipality.' I couldn’t take it, Ferdi took it. The childhood friends you see here have in common that if we were to be away from Manisa for 15 days, our noses would hurt. Ferdi was more from Manisa than I was. He was passionately attached to his wife, children and Manisa. He wanted to be a candidate for Yunusemre Mayor. He was saying, “I will win that place, brother.” We said, “We will win Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, you are the Metropolitan Municipality.” Brother said, “You can see Izmir from the top floor, they won’t give that place to us.” I said, “You can take it, Ferdi.” I said, “There won’t be a single person who doesn’t love you anywhere you go.”
“Ferdi has done a lot of good to all of us. May he forgive us for his wrongs.”
"He performed a miracle. He got 6 percent in the city where we couldn't get 60 percent. He was telling me, 'My burden is heavy, you entrusted me with this place and left.' Now our burden is heavier than anything. He entrusted Manisa to him and left, I don’t know what we will do. If he was there, I didn’t have to worry about him. I don’t know what we will do when he is gone. There is no one who deserves to be loved as much as him because he is someone who loves unconditionally. For example, he is not good at oratory, his podium. But when he starts talking, he is so sincere. The listener falls into his mouth. There is not a person he has a conversation with, shakes his hand and doesn’t win his heart. Everyone who comes here should forgive him. They came to the hospital from Konya to pray. He said, ‘I don’t know Ferdi, I saw his face, he was a very good person.’ He stayed for three days, he actually died at first, but he waited for three days during the holiday to get Nurcan used to you and us. He came on his first day of work without skipping work. His daughters, his family are entrusted to us. Manisa is entrusted to you. May Allah give us all patience. We always ask for forgiveness. It has been too little for Ferdi from us, too much for all of us from Ferdi. May Allah give us all the strength to endure.”
Following the speeches, prayers were read by the Deputy Provincial Mufti İsmail Temur. With the prayers of those who attended the ceremony, President Zeyrek's body was sent to Hatuniye Mosque for the funeral prayer.
