Turkish resident Seker Arslan celebrated her 119th birthday on June 27, 2021. The Daily Mail reports that if the age of the Turkish woman is officially confirmed, she will be able to claim the title of the oldest living person in the world.
According to Arslan's driver's license, she was born on June 27, 1902. Thus, in 2021, the centenarian celebrated her 119th birthday. According to relatives of the Turkish woman, she inherited longevity from her mother, who lived to 110 years.
Arslan has six children and twelve grandchildren. One of her daughters believes that the secret of a mother's long life is that she eats natural foods. “Even on a birthday, there were only natural products on the table: honey, cheese, butter and homemade yogurt,” the girl said. She added that despite Alzheimer's disease, Arslan was able to maintain excellent health for her age.
Six months ago, in the winter of 2021, the relatives of the long-liver contracted COVID-19. The whole family was in the same house and were afraid to infect Arslan. However, the woman's test for a new coronavirus infection showed a negative result. “Thank God I didn't get infected. So, you are sick, but I am not, ”she said.
The Turkish woman spent most of the holiday in prayers and memories of a long life. For 119 years, the woman has experienced the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, two world wars, the Cold War, the Spanish flu, and now she has witnessed the coronavirus pandemic.
On the day of the holiday, the long-liver was visited by Mesudiye Altun Guerlevik, a representative of the ruling Justice and Development Party. The authorities want Arslan's age to be officially recorded, and she could claim the title of the oldest person in the world, overtaking the Japanese woman Kane Tanaka, who was born six months later than the Turkish woman – on January 2, 1903.
The world record for longevity belongs to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in August 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days, but researchers are questioning her age.
