Tens of thousands of refugees are returning to Syria from Turkey to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Muslim feast of sacrifice that begins on Friday. The Turkish authorities have set up a registration system allowing refugees with temporary protection to return to Turkey legally once they have been home.
The Oncupinar border post in the province of Kilis has been open since August 15 and there are currently long lines of people waiting to cross under the hot sun.The authorities report that so far more than 40,000 refugees have crossed back into Syria, at an average of 4,000 a day. Most are headed for parts of northern Syria now considered safe following the Turkish military operation Euphrates Shield. They have until October 15 to return to Turkey.
Syrian refugees in Turkey were also able to return home temporarily in June for the feast of Eid al-Fitr at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. On that occasion, 100,000 people crossed the border. Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country According to UNHCR figures, Turkey hosts over 3 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. Of these, less than 10% live in refugee camps in border provinces. The rest have settled in other parts of the country, often in overcrowded housing.
Istanbul alone hosts approximately 500,000 Syrians (almost 4% of the overall population), with entire neighbourhoods - from the historic area of Fatih to the suburbs of Zeytinburnu and Basaksehir - now speaking a mix of Arabic and Turkish. However, the ratio of refugees to total population is high particularly in border areas. This is the case in Kilis, where for every Turk there is one Syrian. Over 400,000 refugees instead live in Sanliurfa and over 300,000 in the provinces of Hatay and Gaziantep. Many of them have lived in Turkey for several years.Nearly 200,000 Syrians have been born in Turkey to refugee parents since the start of the crisis. The picture shows a Syrian refugee praying before breaking fast with iftar during Ramadan in Istanbul (Archive). EPA/Erdem Sahin