Home > Life News > The man walking from Pendik to Maltepe on the E-5 had become a mystery: It turned out to be heartbreak

The man walking from Pendik to Maltepe on the E-5 had become a mystery: It turned out to be heartbreak

The life story of the 'Pendik Forrest Gump,' who has been walking for kilometers every day for years between Tuzla and Maltepe on the E-5 highway in Istanbul, is heartbreaking. Selami Salman's mother stated that her son was engaged to a woman he loved, but the engagement was broken off, after which he suffered a head injury, and that following these events, her son took to the roads and has been walking constantly, regardless of summer or winter.

İHA

In Istanbul, the life of the 'Pendik Forrest Gump,' whom drivers constantly using the E-5 highway in the Tuzla, Pendik, Kartal, and Maltepe areas see walking on the roadside or the median, has become a subject of curiosity.

It was learned that the citizen, whose name is Selami Salman, lives in the family apartment in Pendik where his mother and brother also reside. Selami Salman, who is in his 50s and has been walking for kilometers on the E-5 highway for years, reportedly leaves his home in the morning hours regardless of summer, winter, rain, or mud, and walks for hours on the side road or the median of the E-5 highway. Some of the drivers who see him walking give Salman water, some give him food, and some try to talk to him.

HIS MOTHER SPOKE ABOUT HIS LIFE

His mother, Medine Salman, who lives in the same apartment as her son Selami Salman, stated that Selami Salman was a cheerful person in his younger years and was different from his current state. Stating that her son was engaged to a woman he loved in his youth, and that the 9-year engagement was broken off because the girl's family did not approve, Medine Salman noted that her son also had an accident about 10 years ago, falling and injuring his head.

Mother Medine Salman expressed that the breaking of Selami Salman's engagement and his head injury negatively affected his psychology and health, and that after these events, her son began to walk on the roads constantly.

“I DON'T FEEL OVERWHELMED WHILE WALKING”

Responding to questions from members of the press while walking on the E-5 highway, Selami Salman said, “I do two laps. Morning and evening. I leave at 8 in the morning. There is nothing to say. What am I going to say? You are walking too, why are you walking? I don't feel overwhelmed while walking. I walk up to Kartal, I turn back from the Shipyard Bridge. Then I go home. People are looking for Selami, that's me.” When asked why he walks, Selami Salman replied, “Wait and see.”

Continuing his speech, Salman said, “This place is good for me. I don't want anything. They give me water, they give it from the car. I tell them; ‘It’s me, Selami.’”

“HE LOVED A GIRL, THEY WERE ENGAGED FOR 9 YEARS”

Selami Salman's mother, Medine Salman, said, “He was a very cheerful child before. He loved a girl, I got them engaged. They remained engaged for 9 years. After that, while preparing for the wedding, the engagement was broken off, the girl's side didn't give her. His psychology was ruined. He threw himself here and there. He said, ‘I won't marry again.’ He also had an accident, he hit his head. Since then, he has been wandering the roads. I want him to be as healthy as my other children, but I don't have the strength. It has been 33 years since my husband died. Sometimes he says, ‘let them not come’ regarding children or girls. But not always. The girl he loved got married a long time ago and has children. But he didn't marry. I am helpless. They say on the internet that he lives in a bad house. What does that have to do with it? I lived there with two daughters-in-law, I lived with many grandchildren and children. They say, ‘he walks on the road.’ They think he is hungry and thirsty. He eats half, he doesn't eat half. He wanders in the sun, in the cold, in the winter. If he were healthy, he wouldn't wander this much. I want him to be treated,” she said.

Selami Salman, who has been walking on the E-5 highway for years, was filmed by a drone while walking on the road.

THE FORREST GUMP MOVIE CAME TO MIND

Selami Salman's walking on the road day and night brought the movie Forrest Gump to mind. The subject of the film covers the life of a man with an IQ of 75. It covers how Forrest Gump, who even had difficulty entering state schools due to his IQ level, achieved successes that defied logic and reason over time.