Italian tourists Giulia Fortuna (21) and Enrico Radrizzani (58), who were staying at a hotel in the town of Uçhisar, were attacked by stray dogs while they were on an early morning walk in Güvercinlik Valley.
Radrizzani was bitten by a dog on his arm, and Fortuna, who fell while trying to escape from the animals, sustained injuries on various parts of her body. After receiving treatment at the hospital, the tourists were discharged.
Radrizzani told reporters that he enjoyed walking in the mornings and had planned for a peaceful valley walk when the dogs attacked him. He mentioned that in Italy, it's not possible to see stray dogs on the streets and that such problems should not occur in tourist centers. He stated:
"We started walking at 5:55 in the morning. While walking, I encountered a big dog. It firs,t tried to bite my arm. I saw another dog coming to bite me as well. I yelled to scare them away. My arm started bleeding. We went to the hospital, and I received tetanus and rabies shots. When the dogs came, Gulia fell and hurt her ear. The valleys here are very beautiful, but tourists should be safe. I can't comprehend a bunch of big dogs running towards you. Someone needs to address this issue. Our situation could have been much worse."
Fortuna, who was injured while fleeing from the dogs, said she couldn't forget the terrifying moment. She recounted that she started running when she saw the dogs coming and said, "I jumped and then fell, injuring my arm, but the main wound was on my ear; it hurt a lot. Stitches were put in at the hospital. I don't think this situation can continue. If this happened to a child, the outcome would be worse. The municipality needs to address this issue better; it would definitely contribute to a solution."
