Ottoman Kitchen raises £11,000 for Turkey earthquake victims

After Ottoman Kitchen owner, Niyazi Kaya, heard about the tragic events of earlier this month, he decided to hold a fundraiser to help.

On Thursday night, he opened the doors of his Turkish restaurant on Southampton High Street to well over 100 guests.

More than £5,500 was raised through a raffle and auction.

Niyazi Kaya holding the shirt signed by Saints player Adam Armstrong (Image: Ottoman Kitchen)

Businesses including Southampton FC, Saints Foundation, SafeVue Security and Shanghai 1814 donated items to go under the hammer.

These included a hand signed, framed photograph of Matt Le Tissier, and a match-worn shirt donated by Saints player Adam Armstrong which fetched £600.

Southampton residents donated bags of clothing, as well as blankets, tinned food, and hygiene items.

READ MORE: Turkish restaurant owner's anguish after losing contact with friends and family

More than 40,000 people have died as a result of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.

The hand signed framed photo donated by Matt Le Tissier (Image: Ottoman Kitchen)

The restaurant is asking for all donations to be dropped off by Sunday as they are due to be collected and delivered to Turkey the following day.

All proceeds will be going to two charities in Kaya’s hometown of Gaziantep, Turkey.

Ottoman Kitchen has thanked Whyte and Co removals for supplying more than 200 boxes to pack donations.