Couple holding hands at Istanbul cafe warned: 'Keep your distance'

Duvar English

A staffer at a cafe in Istanbul's Üsküdar district on March 14 warned a couple holding hands, telling them to "keep their distance." 

"Keep your distance, you cannot sit this close. We do not allow such things here," the staffer told the couple who was sitting at Çimen Cafe. 

When the staffer saw that the couple was recording his remarks on their mobile phone, he walked away. The staffer's remarks were also met with reaction from other customers. 

Seyfullah Köse shared the video he took on his social media account and said: “This 'responsible gentleman' working at Üsküdar Çimen Cafe said loudly, 'Keep your distance, you can't sit this close' when we were sitting holding hands with my girlfriend. When he saw that we were videotaping him and other people objected, he left without apologizing.”

Women's Assemblies (Kadın Meclisleri) shared the incident on Twitter and said: “We hold hands with whomever we want, where we want, and we stand as close as we want. You cannot interfere in our lives.”

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