Turkish man hosts seven stranded travellers during coronavirus lockdown

A Turkish man came to the rescue of seven tourist stranded in the country as it went into coronavirus lockdown last month, hosting them in his home for the past two weeks.

Alper Kaya, a musician living in Mugla province on the Aegean coast, welcomed six French nationals and a Spaniard into his home, where they told Turkish media they are enjoying their period of cohabitation, playing music and practising yoga together.

Kaya told state-run Anadolu Agency that he took the travellers in out of sympathy, and said they would be able to stay as long as they liked.

"After all, the world is in chaos and we need solidarity," he said.

Jon Ansolega, from Spain, told Anadolu that he had no choice but to stay in Turkey after all flights out of the country were cancelled over the coronavirus outbreak.

He said he had many Turkish friends offering to help, praising the country's hospitality.

Maxime Baudoin, a French traveller, said they had wanted to quarantine themselves after becoming aware of the rapid spread of the virus.

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He said their life at Kaya's was "multi-cultural".

Hugo Taiel, another French guest praised the mix of three cultures under the same roof, saying the crisis had been "a positive experience for us".

Turkey was among the last countries in the region to confirm its first case of the new coronavirus, but was swift to implement strict lockdown measures to slow the spread.

The presidency announced on Thursday it was introducing introduce a smartphone app to track coronavirus patients and those they have been in contact with to ensure they remain at home in self-isolation.

If an individual goes outside, they will receive a text warning and will be contacted with an automatic call asking them to return home.

If they repeatedly violate the rules, they will be referred to police.

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