Turkey: Brothers with rare eye color draw attention

By Ugur Cicek

BURSA, Turkey (AA) - Two brothers in Turkey's western Bursa province draw people's attention with their rare eye color.

The couple, Suat and Esra Selman were in for a surprise when they had their first child 11 years ago. Mehmet Selman was born with one blue and one brown eye, a condition called heterochromia.

Their second child Kerem Selman, who is now 4 years old, has the same condition.

Many celebrities such as Mila Kunis, Dominic Sherwood, Kate Bosworth, Kiefer Sutherland and Jane Seymour have heterochromia eyes, making it a fashion trend.

The condition does not impair vision and is caused as a result of different concentrations of melanin, a pigment which determines eye and skin color.

Suat Selman said the boys were happy with the attention they got when they were young, but now they feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Sometimes, my boys shut their eyes in public to avoid attention," he added.

Esra Selman said she felt lucky to have special boys.

* Writing by Fahri Aksut