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A 74-year-old woman who appeared alongside Mohamed Salah in Trabzonspor's transfer announcement video has traveled to Egypt and Saudi Arabia after the film drew widespread attention, turning her brief role into an unexpected international experience.
Hatice Akbas, who played a woman welcoming Salah into her home in the video, was invited with her husband by an Egypt-based tourism company. During the trip, she performed umrah while spending a day in Saudi Arabia before traveling on to Egypt.
The promotional film, shot in Trabzon's Arakli and Surmene districts, centered on Akbas dreaming that Salah had transferred to Trabzonspor and then preparing a meal for the Egyptian footballer.
After the video attracted attention around the world, Akbas said her life began to change in ways she had never expected.
"Thanks to Salah, I never imagined I would be loved this much," she said.
Wearing a traditional kesan headscarf and carrying a Trabzonspor scarf, Akbas visited historical and tourist sites in Egypt, where she said people frequently approached her to take photographs.
She said she had never imagined that appearing in the film would take her abroad, describing the experience as so unexpected that she sometimes felt as though she were "not in this world."
Akbas said she and her husband were warmly hosted in Cairo and described Egyptians as welcoming, friendly, and cheerful.
She also said they met with the ambassador during their visit. A planned meeting with Salah's parents, however, could not take place because they were unwell.
Akbas thanked those involved in bringing Salah to Türkiye and said the trip, including the surprise opportunity to perform umrah, had deeply moved her.
She added that she would like to welcome Salah, his wife, and his children into her own home in the future.
Her husband, Ali Akbas, said the couple had previously appeared as extras in various television series and films, but Salah's Trabzonspor promotional video had taken their experience far beyond anything they had done before.
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