EDÛLE
Born into a family of 14 children in a village not far from Kızıltepe, at 16 years old Edûle was married off to a man many years her senior. When she was 17 she had her first child, a son. Over the next 30 years Edûle would go on to give birth to 16 more children, 4 girls and 13 boys. Fîdel, the founding member of our project, is Edûle’s 17th child. Medîne, one of Edûle’s 4 daughters, is also featured in JIYAN. Edûle’s life, story, and spirit are the initial inspiration for JIYAN in its entirety.
Edûle, a true matriarch, was strong and gentle at the same time. She spoke in melodies and had a wonderful sense of humor and a quiet self-confidence.
Alexia traveled to meet Edûle in February 2018. At the time, Edûle was living with one of her many sons, his wife and their 2 daughters in the town of Kızıltepe, a city 30 minutes drive from the ancient city of Mardin, near the Syrian/Turkish border.
Before she moved in with the family, Edûle’s son had prepared a room for her in their three-bedroom apartment but Edûle, having spent her life surrounded by abundant family, preferred to sleep in the family lounge on the couch every night, falling asleep to the soundtrack of Turkish television and her grandchildren playing.
Her life had been hard and many of her own personal dreams were sacrificed to raise her amazing family, but in our conversations Edûle gave us insight into her incredible journey of raising 17 children, getting to know and love each of them, all wildly unique and different. This perspective into human nature, and the intimate way she shared her story with us, seemed a story that few well travelled journalists or researchers are even able to approach.
Edûle passed away at the age of 81 years old in January 2019. Her wisdom, warmth and passion will be sorely missed. It was an honor to have had the opportunity to meet her.
