The Turkish movie "Sofor Nebahat Abla", a memorable Turkish movie of the 70s, appeared as "Sofor Fatma Abla" in Denizli in the early 2000s

The Turkish movie "Sofor Nebahat Abla", a memorable Turkish movie of the 70s, appeared as "Sofor Fatma Abla" in Denizli in the early 2000s. The common point of both movies is that the lead actresses are women, and in spite of the period they live in, women are more to find a place in a sector where they have never been seen before, to make themselves accepted... The biggest difference between the two films is that depending on the changing conditions of the time, the car is replaced by a bus and even an ambulance...

Here is the story of a woman who is determined, who thinks that to want is to succeed, our driver Fatma Abla; the first female ambulance driver of Denizli and the first female municipal bus driver not only in Denizli but also in Turkey...

We met Fatma Abla outside to interview her for our article. This is the first time we met her. You know, there are some people who wear their profession on their clothes, you can guess their profession with the way they dress, move and speak. Fatma Abla is one of them, one of those who live their profession. At the very beginning of our conversation, she made me feel how she was in love with her profession. I started to listen with interest, it was obvious that she was an interesting person, she was a person from life...

Born in 1969 in isabey village of cal, he started his education at Sevindik Primary School but could not continue his education for various reasons. At the age of 16 Fatma Abla, who was forced to marry by her family, expresses her longing for school and insists that especially girls should be educated. Fatma Abla has worked in many jobs, from cleaning at the hospital to running the school canteen. Fatma Abla, who loves driving very much, would never have known in those days that the driver's license (type B) she obtained in 1997 would earn her the title of being the first female municipality and ambulance driver in Denizli and even in Turkey...

In 2000, Fatma Abla heard that the Private Aegean Hospital was hiring a cleaning staff and, under the coercion of a friend who told her that the hospital needed an "ambulance driver", she applied as an ambulance driver and was hired. She was very surprised when she first learned that she was accepted for the job.

Unbelieving Fatma Abla met the ambulance for the first time that day. Fatma Abla said that ambulance driving is a very special and sacred profession and that she could do this job even now without getting any money, and it is understood from her eyes and tone of voice during the conversation how much she loves and misses her job...

PRIVATE EGE HOSPITAL
Yetis Fatma Abla!

Fatma Abla, who describes being an ambulance driver as "crossing a narrow line between life and death", was very upset when she encountered a death for the first time and wanted to quit her job, but in time she got used to this face of life like everyone else... Fatma Abla was first recognized by everyone when Yusuf Ziya Goksu, the governor of the time, saw the inscription "Ambulance Driver" on Fatma Abla's lapel during the opening ceremony of the Private Ege Hospital and shared it with the press members there. Of course, being a woman, Fatma Abla attracted a lot of attention in a short time...

During her work as an ambulance driver, she was influenced by a conversation with a patient's relative and decided to get an E class driver's license, which she did... This time, Fatma Abla, who is a brave and stubborn driver, went to the Employment Agency to apply for a job after a friend working in Denizli Municipality told her that the municipality would hire a driver. The words of the official who told her that she could not apply because she was a woman made her even more ambitious. At the end of her insistence, Fatma Abla asked to see the application conditions and found that there was no statement in the application conditions that women could not apply. She then made her application and met with the mayor of the time, Ali Aygoren.

Adopting the policy of bringing firsts to Denizli, women The former president, who advocated that women should be in every sector without discriminating between men and women, first asked Fatma Abla "how much she wanted this job and how confident she was in herself". As a result of her satisfactory answers, Fatma Abla was hired in 2002. Thus, Fatma Abla, a mother of 2 children, entered an unfamiliar environment and started working as the only female driver among 120 male drivers. Fatma Abla, who had never driven a bus in her life, became a master bus driver in a very short time thanks to her determination and ambition.

Ali Aygoren says that Fatma Abla "brought courtesy among the drivers, communicated well with the passengers, never had an accident, and was an exemplary driver", and points to Fatma Abla as a living example that women can achieve anything if they want to. Those who see Fatma Abla behind the wheel in front of a huge bus for the first time cannot hide their surprise at first... But the reactions are always positive...

The love of the public for Fatma Abla, who starts her work with the loving eyes of the little ones and the blessings of the elders and who drives for hours, has increased day by day. In addition to those who give her flowers, there are also many people who give her evil eye beads to ward off the evil eye. Fatma Abla collected these beads together with her memory and always carried these evil eye beads, which numbered 200 to 250, on her bus. On some days, Fatma Abla, who was strong, hard-built and yet soft-hearted, would give the roses she picked from the garden to the elderly people who got on the bus...

A silent but strong friendship started between her and the passengers who got on and off her bus at the same time every morning....

Fatma Sister of the Passengers
Fatma Abla, like Nebahat Abla in the movie, quickly became very popular among the other male drivers. Fatma Abla was as precious to them as a daughter in a house. Her fellow drivers always received flowers on Mother's Day. Sometimes Fatma Abla would get angry at those who came with unironed pants, because she was a woman, she had to show herself!!! However, over time Fatma Abla started to resemble them, she used to walk around with a rosary in her hand, sometimes even stepping on the back of her shoes, Fatma Abla gets very angry with herself especially when she says that she smokes, but now she has quit and doesn't smoke.

Being a driver is really a very difficult profession, and I understood this better when I talked to Fatma Abla. when they were on duty, the shift lasted until 24 hours a night. Some nights his friends stayed with him to support him during his vigils. Very Exten When he was working in Denizli Municipality Buses. There was a strong friendship between them; so much so that his fellow drivers always supported him financially and morally even after he left his job... It was not difficult to feel how grateful he was even when he was saying this.... Of course, when I think about it, day and night, every day of the week, who knows what they have accumulated in their treasures...

I ask her the number of the first bus she worked on and without thinking, Fatma Abla immediately answers 21 and continues, 15-20-3-24... 1200 houses to campus...

I was saddened to hear this, I am one of those who cannot keep up with Fatma Abla and see her behind the wheel. However, when I came to my room and told my friend that I met Denizli's and Turkey's first female bus driver today, my friend suddenly said that he recognized her and that he took the bus she drove with a sweet smile on his face... "She was always a well-groomed, smiling, nice lady," he said, and what could be better than being remembered in this way after all these years... Fatma Abla The first of these is the "Driver of the Month" award in 2001 for not having any accidents since the day she got her driver's license, the "Driver of the Year" award in 2002, the "Golden Woman of Denizli" award in 2004, and the "Woman with Heart" award given by Kultur University in 2004. In addition to these, Turkish Women's Union, Pamukkale Rotary Club and Denizli

Fatma Abla has been given many plaques of appreciation and honor by various institutions such as the Prison Directorate for her work in transporting prisoners in Type D Prison. We would like to thank Fatma Abla, who became the first female municipal bus driver in Turkey and contributed to our Denizli, and announce that we would like to see more Fatma Abla in this profession... In 2000, Fatma Abla was the first and only one, and today, in 2010, I would love to say that dozens of Fatma Abla are walking on the path paved by Fatma Abla.

But unfortunately, their numbers have not increased and they are our evil eye bead Our sister Fatma is no longer behind the wheel of her beloved car. Fatma, who had a hard time after being laid off from her job and whose heart was full of love for cars, even worked in funeral services, started working as a long-distance driver (between Canakkale, Istanbul, Konya) for a private company on weekends and as a city driver on weekdays. Having tasted the taste of long-distance driving and swallowed the dust of those roads, Fatma fell in love with her profession once again. The smell of smoke from the exhaust, the lack of sleep, the taste of tea drunk in oil offices during breaks, sincere conversations with passengers...

I cannot tell you how excited he was when he said these things. While he was telling me about his awards with newspaper clippings in his hand, the picture he saw on the page he turned to me excited him even more. Curiously, when I looked at that page, I saw a huge, state-of-the-art model passenger bus in the picture... "Do you see how beautiful that is?" he said excitedly, showing me the picture he was holding in his lap and kissing it... As if it was his child, as if he loved it... That's when I realized that being a driver is a completely different love...

"I will do this job as long as my eyes can see and my hands can hold the steering wheel," Fatma says, and I ask her what her biggest dream is, and the answer I get is 'to work as a truck driver and travel around Europe with a truck'... The only thing we can say to Fatma Abla, who loves her profession so much and lives it, is "Godspeed Fatma Abla"...