Sultan Kosen’s face beams with a smile as he hears a band play folk songs from his hometown in Turkey.
“I love this music,” he said in his native Turkish. “It reminds me of home.”
Kosen’s home came to Orange County this week at the Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival, a celebration of Turkish cultures. Kosen traveled across the world to the OC Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa to represent his hometown of Mardin. He can’t help but attract attention to his hometown. He’s recognized as the world’s tallest person by Guinness World Records. He grew normally until age 10, when he said a tumor in his pituitary gland at the base of his brain caused his body to produce excess amounts of growth hormone.
As the festival opened Thursday, Kosen talked through an interpreter about what life is like 8 feet, 3 inches above the ground.
How has life changed for you since becoming the world’s tallest person?
“I had a difficult life before I got in the book of records, because I couldn’t find clothes to fit me. But after I was included in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records,’ my life changed for the better. I didn’t travel much before, but afterwards, I started traveling all around Turkey and also abroad. I started having normal shoes, like everyone else, and I started having a more normal life. A shoemaker company in Germany, Wessels, became my sponsor, and they began making me shoes and sending me two to three pairs a year. I have a tailor in Turkey, who makes clothes only for me. I never got to wear suits before. I only had one pair of pants and one shirt. I wore those same clothes all year long.”
You walk with a pair of canes. Is it difficult to get around?
“I had a car accident in Turkey, and it took a year for me to recover, and it made my muscles weaker. That’s why I use the sticks. I don’t drive. I can’t fit in a car. A minivan is too small. In Turkey, I have to ride in a specially built Ford Transporter.”
When did you stop growing?
“In 2010, I had a successful operation at the University of Virginia to remove the tumor that caused the growing. I’ve now stopped growing. That’s taken care of the tumor and I feel much better. Thanks to God, I’m feeling much better.”
What do you hope people get from your visit to the festival?
“I want them to learn about the city of Mardin, where I’m from. (It) is known for seven traditions, seven cultures, seven languages, living side by side for thousands of years. My hope is that when people will learn about the city of Mardin, and when they come to Turkey, to Istanbul, to Ankara, to Ismir – these are the known cities. I hope people will also want to come to Mardin.
Which of the seven cultures do you come from?
“I have Kurdish, Turkish, a little Arab. But mostly I’m Kurdish. I speak Turkish, Kurdish, a little Arabic and a little English.”
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