ISTANBUL
Hürriyet Photo
A company that offers funeral services for foreigners in
the Mediterranean province of Antalya has submitted a proposal to the local
metropolitan municipality to construct a crematorium to process the remains of
foreigners in the area, daily Hürriyet reported today.
"We have frequently had cremation requests in recent
years. However, we send [bodies] to their countries because there is no
possibility [of cremating them here]," said Murat Arslanoğlu, the chairman
of the funeral company, Fempa. "I think Turkey will improve in subjects
like tourism and human rights, if a crematory is opened. There are also demands
from Turks but it is not enough."
According to the plan, which was designed in the United
States, the crematorium will have the capacity of conducting three to four
cremations per day. Natural gas or LPG will be used as fuel, while the bodies
will be cremated at 850 degrees Celsius. There will also be monitoring rooms
for families in the crematorium in addition to other cremation rooms.
The project, which is expected to cost 900,000 Turkish
Liras, is currently being examined by the municipality, Hürriyet reported,
citing daily Akşam as a source.
Antalya Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Akaydın has previously
said that a crematorium would be useful given the decreasing amount of space in
the city’s cemeteries.
July/31/2012