Kissing the hands of the elderly is considered a traditional sign of respect in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slapped a boy who took too long to kiss his hand during a ceremony broadcast on local TV channels.
Video of the moment went viral and spread across the Internet.
According to Turkish media outlet Duvar, the incident occurred during the opening ceremony of houses built as part of an urban transformation in the northern province of Rize. The city of Rize itself is the native city of the Turkish president.
After the speech, Erdogan handed out keys to their houses to the families. The first to take the stage were the two children of the family.
The Turkish president stood on the stage and, when the boys approached him, extended his hand to them to kiss. The youngest of the brothers, about 5 years old, was confused and seemed to try to shake Erdogan's hand. Instead, the child received a slap in the face.
After such a warning, or perhaps at the prompting of one of the adults, the boy finally kissed the president's hand and touched it with his forehead. Then he received pocket money from Erdogan from a wad of bills that the Turkish president was holding in his other hand.
The publication added that kissing the hands of elderly people is considered a traditional sign of respect in Turkey.
Recall that local elections were held in Turkey at the end of March, which analysts call President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's worst political failure in two decades. His party lost in the country's five largest cities.
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