Page 177 - Sarpedon’dan Keykubad’a Bir Zamanlar Antalya

Once upon a time, a young girl and a valiant boy in love
with each other lived their great love in this land. The two young
people would always meet in the valley between the high moun-
tains. Of course, there was no lake there at that time, the whole
valley was just greenery and flowers. Neither of their eyes could
see anything but each other. In the end, the valiant boy could
not stand it no longer and came and asked her father for his
daughter. Seeing that his daughter was also in love with the
valiant young man, the father wished his daughter to be happy
and he allowed her to marry the young man. That day, they
broke a promise between the girl and the boy. The next day,
the young man, who had not done his military service yet, took
the road to the army to fulfill his national duty. That’s when the
sad story begins.
One day, the young girl, who was watching the path for her
valiant lover, whom she sent off to the military before she could
get married, receives dark news. Her loved one has died. The
young girl, who was very upset over this news, could not eat for
days. However, they say that one cannot die with the one who
dies. In spite of everything, human beings must live. There-
upon, the girl’s father betroths his daughter to someone else
because there is no point in waiting any longer. The wedding
day comes, but the young girl’s heart is still with her ex-lover.
Despite this, the young girl did not oppose the situation both for
the sake of continuing her life and because she loved her father
very much. The bridal procession arrives and the girl, who is
desperately riding her horse, sets out in tears, until she came
to the valley where she was, in the past constantly meeting with
her lover. When she came there, the young girl, who could not
stand it anymore, opened her palms up and said, “My God,
let me swim to the water, or let the bird meat go!” At that very

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