15.11.2026 11:01
Gökhan İnce, who has been selling shoes and bags for 32 years in the Antakya district of Hatay, moved the humorous sign he had hung in 2020 to his new shop after his workplace was destroyed in the February 6 earthquakes. Customers who read the sign that says 'It is a tense enough shop, please enter smiling' go inside smiling. The sign also attracted the attention of Japanese tourists visiting the city.
In the Antakya district of Hatay, Gökhan İnce, a tradesman selling shoes and bags, welcomes his customers with a humorous sign hung at the entrance of his shop in response to the tension and sadness experienced after the earthquake. Customers who see the sign reading 'A tense enough shop, please enter smiling' enter the shop smiling, while the sign also attracts the attention of those around.
Gökhan İnce, living in Antakya district, has been making a living by working in the shoe and bag sector for about 32 years. Tradesman Gökhan İnce, whose workplace was destroyed in the February 6 earthquakes, chose an interesting method to make people smile after feeling that people living in the city were continuing their lives amid sadness and stress after the earthquake. Wanting customers to be happier when they come to his workplace, İnce hung a humorous sign at the entrance. With the sign reading 'A tense enough shop, please enter smiling,' İnce makes citizens smile. İnce, who moved the sign he began using at his workplace in the old bazaar in 2020 to his new workplace after the earthquake, said that customers smile when they read the text. The sign also attracts the attention of citizens passing in front of the workplace and is reflected in photographs.
EVERYONE WAS TENSE AND UNHAPPY
Tradesman Gökhan İnce, stating that he has been operating in the shoe and bag sector for 32 years, said, “As you know, we experienced an earthquake. Everyone was tense, sad, unhappy and sullen. We wanted to at least be a reason for people coming to our shop to smile. We prepared such a text for this. Thank God, those who enter start smiling when they see the text. On the sign it says, 'A tense enough shop. Please enter smiling. Because we are fed up with sullen people.' In fact, here we are somewhat referring to ourselves too. People take photos when they see it from outside, and they smile when they come in. People need to laugh. The people of Hatay have many troubles; our faces are somewhat gloomy because of what we have been through. But we are also people of this city. If we can make each other laugh, we all become happy,” he said.
JAPANESE TOURISTS ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED IT
İnce, who said that the text hanging in the shop attracts citizens' attention and makes people laugh, said, “The lady you see has been our customer for about 10 years; I have never seen her pass inside without smiling even once. We also try to make people laugh; that is partly our job. This text also caught the attention of Japanese tourists. Japanese tourists who came to film the earthquake photographed the sign and our shop. The images were published on social media pages that reached millions of people. This sign was actually a text we hung in 2020, before the earthquake, at our shop in the old bazaar. When our shop was destroyed, we brought the sign with us too. It has been with us since that day. People can sometimes misunderstand the text. However, our aim is not to hurt anyone but to make everyone smile. If the people of Hatay smile, we smile too. If we can make someone laugh, we become even happier. We want everyone to live happily,” he said.
EVEN THOSE WHO NEVER SMILE SMILE
Neşe Keskin, who said that a smile forms on their faces every time they enter the shop and see the text, used the following expressions: “Mr. Gökhan is a tradesman neighbor whom we love very much. As you know, we experienced an earthquake, and as people we now greatly need to laugh and be happy. He also hung a sign in his shop reading 'A tense enough shop. Please enter smiling' for this. After reading this text, incoming customers really enter smiling. This makes us very happy too. Sometimes even people who never smile enter the shop smiling after reading the sign. They do their shopping, take the offered coffee and leave happily. It is very nice that it creates even a small smile on people's faces. We thank him for being a reason for such an environment to form.”