Symbol of peculiarity: Meet the ‘yellow man' of Aleppo

68-year-old Abu Zakour has been wearing only yellow for last 35 years


Xinhua January 15, 2019
Abu Zakkour known as the Yellow Man, a symbol of peculiarity in the city, walks down the street in Aleppo, Syria. PHOTO: XINHUA

ALEPPO: A 68-year-old man in Aleppo, Syria has become a symbol of peculiarity in the city with the yellow colour he has been dressed in for the past 35 years.

Abu Zakkour’s obsession with yellow started in 1983, and he decided to be a 'yellow man'.

"For me the yellow colour represents love and something no one has ever done and no one even endures. I believe no one in the world can wear yellow for 35 years, day and night, indoors and outdoors," Zakkour said.

The man wears everything in yellow, including his suits, neckties, shirts, underwear, socks, slippers and glasses. Even his suitcase is yellow.

Upon entering his small flat in the Maari neighborhood, the yellow shoes and slippers are the first yellow items that jump into the view.



In his small yellow and blue wardrobe, 11 hangers hold his outfits including suits, a coat, a safari suit and a couple of jellabiyas, a kind of traditional long garment.

"When I walk down the street or go to crowded places, people would smile and take photos with me. Many people stop to talk to me and joke with me and I think it's called love," he says.

Zakkour has remained faithful to his yellow-colour cause, as he said such attention from the streets and TV interviews seems to be a solace for his loneliness after the death of his wife and the departure of his sons outside Syria.

"Wearing another colour would make me feel off-beat and strange because I am wearing yellow for 35 years and it's a long time. I cannot even have any different colour within my yellow attire," he says.

Zakkour says he would never wear another colour as long as he is alive.

COMMENTS (1)

Bunny Rabbit | 5 years ago | Reply ET a big thanx for publishing an article on Syria for a change which is not about war or poverty or the ongoing crisis.
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