atilla tiriyaki

After the devastation of being left by his fiancé, just hours before his wedding, Aziz, an American-born Turkish Cypriot, relocated to London to start a new life. Just as he starts to get his life back on track, he receives news that his elderly Cypriot grandfather had passed away during a visit to London. His grandfather, a strong and opinionated man, who had a significant influence on Aziz’s childhood, died peacefully in the night, surrounded by posters of half-naked women, in his grandson’s bedroom.

With Aziz and his family wanting to follow Turkish traditions, the race was on to not only get his grandfather’s body back to Cyprus but also to make all of the necessary arrangements for the funeral. From disasters that quickly ensue, with the wrong body arriving, and Aziz having to become naturalised, Aziz recalls the various characters, culture, and experiences that he had long forgotten from his childhood.

This journey of discovery provides a unique perspective on Northern Cyprus, the culture, and customs that will make you laugh and cry. Ultimately, Aziz learns more about himself and his rather vast, and crazy extended family, only to find that his relationship with his grandfather wasn’t, quite as he had remembered.