HYDERABAD:After nearly three-and-a-half years of living and serving as the Turkish Consul General in Hyderabad, Adnan Altay Altinors and his wife Kubra Altinors jetted back to Ankara early Friday morning. They have taken back with them some priceless memories of the days spent in the City of Pearls and left behind a vacuum in their close-knit circle of friends.
Apart from winding up their paper work and submitting final reports at the Turkish Consulate in Jubilee Hills, they spent their last couple of weeks saying goodbye to friends, colleagues and fellow diplomats in Hyderabad. “Our assignment has come to an end and we are going to miss Hyderabad a lot. I wish I could do more, but the pandemic broke out. I miss my daughter and am waiting to see her at Ankara,” says Adnan, who was known for organising health camps, charity and food donation drives for Ramzan, and a talk on women empowerment, among other activities, during his stint.
Kubra, on the other hand, says she will keep coming back to Hyderabad to meet her friends who are nothing short of family for her. “The people and culture here are so welcoming. I can never say goodbye to them. I will always stay connected with them all my life,” she says.
As the couple gets back to their hectic life in the Turkish capital, their friends, share some fond memories with CE. Rai Saheba Begum Scheherazade Rikye Javeri, fondly called Sherry Javeri, calls them a ‘refreshing couple’. “I have a very close connection with Turkey. I have know all the Turkish Consul Generals posted in Hyderabad. Adnan and Kubra are extremely special. Kubra compliments Adnan so well. The two have established strong relations here and have a good command of the country,” says Javeri, who hopes that they return soon.
Another close friend, Shona Malhotra, will certainly miss her weekly hangout sessions with Kubra. “I met Kubra in January 2019, when my husband took charge as the general manager at the Taj Falaknuma. It was a meet-and-greet, wherein she and Adnan were also present. Ever since, she, Ravita (Mayor) and I meet up at least once a week. There’s no chance that the three of us don’t catch up every week, unless one of us is travelling,” says Shona, a hotelier, who has had the time of her life vacationing with the couple in Maldives and Kerala.
One thing that she will miss is chatting up for hours together at Kubra’s Gachibowli home. “We used to sit at this beautiful dining space in her kitchen and talk over cups and cups of tea. This is something Kubra also loved to do. She found this very similar to how the women in Turkey spend time with each other in the vast kitchens there,” she says, adding that Adnan’s stories were the cherry on the cake. “He’s a great storyteller.”
Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in Hyderabad Andrew Fleming recently hosted a dinner for the couple. Calling Adnan a ‘great companion’, here’s what Andrew had to say about him: “Adnan arrived in Hyderabad about eight months after me and has been a great companion in the small diplomatic community here from day one. He was joined by his charming wife Kubra a few months later and both have become good friends to my wife and I.”
The two diplomats have attended more than 50 events together, but a couple of highlights that Andrew recalls are some ‘amazing’ nights at the Taj Falaknuma with its strong Turkish connections (as has much of this city) and some evenings at the Gachibowli Stadium. “We enjoyed our shared passion of watching live football, in this case Hyderabad FC during their inaugural season. We are planning a football reunion in Turkey and I am already excited for that. I wish Adnan well in his next role in Ankara and hope he will thereafter have a chance to serve as an Ambassador — he has all the qualities to do an excellent job,” says Andrew.
Another close friend, Alicia Dubier will miss their warmth and hospitality. “Dr Altinors and the first lady of Turkey in Hyderabad Kubra Altinors have left behind very pleasant memories of warm friendship and fellowship with everyone who have known them. Adnan and Kubra, as they were fondly known, were always welcoming and gracious hosts, whether it was a luncheon at their beautiful home or hosting an official event,” she says.
Calling Kubra the livewire at every get together, she says: “Her witty sense of humour kept us always in splits. They were a wonderful couple, who will surely be missed a lot.” Alicia, the wife of Ian Dubier who is the general manager of Taj Krishna, hope to see them again in the not-so-distant future.
Fashion designer Ravita Mayor recalls her vacations and celebrations with the couple. “We’ve been friends from the very beginning of their stay in Hyderabad. Just before they could leave for Turkey, we went on a short trip to Goa. Also, our vacation at the Lake Palace in Udaipur was splendid,” she says. Kubra, Ravita and Shona were a gang of girls who would wait for a chance to hang out with each other. “For birthdays and all other celebrations, we were together. I am going to miss her so much,” she says.
As the Altinors settle back in Ankara, their friends here in Hyderabad can’t wait to host them again. Here’s wishing them all the joy and success in life.