In the village of Sav, located in the province of Isparta in southwestern Türkiye, 75-year-old Sakine Akkul amazes everyone with her pink house.
Aunt Sakine, who has loved the color pink since childhood, said, “If I could, I would even paint my son and daughter pink and look at them through pink-colored glasses because I love it so much.”
Akkul paints everything she can find pink, covering every detail of her home and drawing attention to its distinctive pink appearance. Everything is painted pink, from the outer gate to the walls and even the decorative items inside.
Akkul said her love for pink began in childhood. She recalls asking her mother for pieces of pink cloth when she was about 4 or 5 years old, saying: “I used to ask my mother for pink fabric pieces and sew them. If I received another color, I wouldn’t accept it. My love for pink has been with me since then. When my father bought us new clothes for the holidays, I would tell him to get me a pink sweater and if he bought another color, I wouldn’t wear it.”
“Because I love the color pink so much, I want everything to be pink,” Akkul continued. “I feel compelled to paint. I painted my house myself; whatever I get my hands on, I want to paint it pink; I can’t stop myself. If I don’t paint, I can’t sleep. When I buy pink paint, I feel at ease.”
“My son says, ‘Mom, you’re sick, don’t do this at your age,’ but I tell him, ‘Son, I can’t stop; painting relaxes my body.’ If I could, I would paint everything, including my son and daughter and look at them through pink-colored glasses because I love it so much.”
Akkul painted her house pink nine years ago, but she says the obsession with the color intensified after her husband’s passing.
“Nine years ago, there was some pink in my house, but not as much as there is now. After my husband passed away, I became even more obsessed with pink. I started by painting my house pink, comforting myself. It became a way for me to cope.”
Her pink house has drawn visitors from all over Türkiye, with some traveling from places like Ankara and Antalya to see it.
“The other day, people came from Ankara just to see the house; many women in Ankara know about me; there are visitors from Antalya and other places as well; they ask me, ‘Aunt, why do you love pink so much?’ They say they’ve explored Sav but have never seen a house like this.”
“They ask how I did it and if I wasn’t tired of it, I tell them it comes naturally to me; if I don’t paint, I can’t sleep. They say, ‘We haven’t seen a woman like you,’ and give me their blessings.”
Discussing her future aspirations, Akkul shared: “I can’t buy paint like I used to. If I could, I would paint everything and make it look like paradise. I’ll paint the front and back of the house, everything. If I could, I would paint the entire village of Sav.”
She has even left specific instructions for her children regarding her love for pink. “I’ve told my children that when I die, leave the decorations in place, hang two or three of them on my grave; if I paint more before I die, they’ll hang two or three, and the rest will stay.”
“I want everyone who comes to the house to remember that I made these. I want my tombstone to be bright pink, just like the entrance to my house, so that everyone will notice my grave. My children will make sure of that. My most valuable thing is pink,” she concluded.
