More than 3.5 million Syrian refugees now live in Turkey as a result of a conflict that has raged since 2011. Many take to the seas off Turkey to make the short but perilous trip to GreeceWith migrants only allowed one backpack each on the smugglers´ boats that carry them from Turkey to Greece, Ahmed, his wife, Hanin, and her family packed a few possessions and sent the rest of their belongings to friends. Then they waited.It should have been the defining moment of a journey that began as Syria´s conflict escalated, forcing two Palestinian families to flee their homes in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus. Hanin and her family left in 2014, and Ahmed two years later for Turkey, where they were introduced in the winter of 2017.Ahmed makes a phone call at a bus stop during a 20-hour ride from Izmir to Kilis to meet his fiancee for the first timeTop: Hanin leaves her friend´s apartment in her wedding dress ready for her marriage to Ahmed in Izmir. Above: Ahmed buys the wedding rings; the couple cut the cake.Night in Hilal, one the poorest areas in IzmirAhmed, Hanin and her mother visit a pastry shop in KilisTop: Ahmed´s cash, set aside as part of the payment for a smuggler. Above: Hanin´s father, Zuher, with his son OsamaA shopfront in Ikiçesmelik, IzmirTop: Ahmed swims for the first time in the Aegean sea. Above: Sunset in KonakHanin´s brothers, Osama and Mohammad Continue reading...
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