French man returns to Türkiye to find children in his photos

ERZURUM

A French anthropologist has returned to Türkiye in order to locate the children he captured in photographs 43 years ago.

Victor Dallant (68), who holds a master's degree in anthropology and boarded the Orient Express from Istanbul in 1980 at the age of 25, took photos of children playing ball and skiing in a neighborhood in the eastern province of Erzurum.

After 43 years, Dallant, still curious about the children he had photographed, set out from France to Erzurum once again in an effort to locate them.

After an extended period of searching in Erzurum, Dallant is now determined to remain in the city in order to locate the individuals depicted in the photographs and show them the images that he captured four decades ago.

During his trip, Dallant said, "I came to Erzurum with the Orient Express. I took pictures of kids playing games there. I really enjoy taking pictures, so when I saw seven happy kids having fun in a neighborhood in Erzurum, I took some pictures of them and edited them in Paris."

"I traveled to Erzurum from France in search of these kids, whose photos I took when they were seven years old. I was only just starting to learn Turkish, so I couldn't talk much with the kids while I took their pictures. I long to reunite with them and give them these photographs," he continued.

Dallant added that he had posted on social media accounts in an attempt to locate these individuals but had been unsuccessful thus far. He expressed his deep affection for Türkiye and Erzurum and maintained optimism in his pursuit.