Brit widower, 86, leaves £20k to Turkish bellboy, 41, in will after visiting resort for 40 years
A BRITISH widower who visited the same hotel for 40 years has left its Turkish bellboy thousands of pounds in his will.
Charles Courtney, 86, struck up a friendship with Taskin Dasdan, 41, and gave him up to £20,000, pals say.
Former brewery chemist Charles, his wife and a large group of friends used to meet at the hotel every year.
Taskin said the Brit always stayed in room 401, which had become known as 'Charlie's Room'.
And when his wife Miriam died in 2009, after 58 years of marriage, Charles continued to visit without her.
One of his friends said: “They were like the furniture but, eventually, because they were all of similar age, the group gradually got smaller as they died.
“Charles was one of the last when he died in 2014 but it’s taken many years for his estate to be sorted out.
“Executors in England had to make contact with the Turkish lad and his colleagues at the hotel, so they’ve only just found out what generous Charles left them.”
Charles, of Hastings, East Sussex, had already given dad-of-three Taskin money for his children’s schooling.
Taskin, who has worked at the KoruMar Hotel Deluxe, in Kusadasi, since 1990, said he first heard of his inheritance when the hotel was contacted by British probate officials earlier this year.
He said: “Mr Charlie wasn’t like a guest for us but like a friend, a Turkish friend. When we received the sad news that he died, our hearts burned.
“I may not need to work again but I think I will stay in the job because I love meeting people.”
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