Kösen spent the past two weeks in his hometown, Mardin's Dede village, to rest before he set out for Lisbon. “There are numerous applications to the coordinators of the Guinness records book for events requesting my participation. We are flying to Portugal today. I do not know the upcoming publicity visits after Portugal because the program will be arranged according to requests from groups from around the world. I have had the opportunity to go to countries I could never have dreamed of and want to represent my country as best I can. There have already been offers for TV shows and advertisements; furthermore, there are filmmakers who want to shoot documentaries about my life. All these developments are very exciting for me. I want to take advantage of all these opportunities to find the right direction for my life,” Kösen told the Anatolia news agency yesterday.
The newly crowned tallest man visited London in early September and New York on Sept. 20. Kösen is 10 centimeters taller than the previous record holder, China's Bao Xishun.
He grew normally until he was 10, but then a tumor caused him to develop a medical condition called pituitary gigantism. The tumor was removed last year, and his growth stopped. Kösen lives with his parents, three brothers and sister, who are all normal sized. He was unable to complete his schooling because of his height and works part-time as a farmer.
