A BRIDE whose husband was murdered 15 days after their dream wedding in Turkey has told of her heartbreak at losing the love of her life.

Joanne Cetinkaya, 23, speaking after returning home to Darwen for the first time since Hakan’s death, said: "I thought that we would be together forever. It is so awful to know that now we won't.”

Hakan, a 22-year-old furniture maker, was stabbed to death on October 3 after he tried to intervene in a bar brawl in his home town of Bursa in Turkey.

Joanne, of The Sidings, is trying to come to terms with life without her husband, who she met in 2005 while spending an extended holiday in the resort of Icmeler.

In a moving interview, in which she broke down with tears of grief, Joanne told how they fell in love after Hakan blew her a kiss as he walked by.

And the former Darwen Moorland pupil told of Hakan's hauting last words to her as she returned to England: 'Don't worry I will be there soon'.

She said: “When we said goodbye, there was no way of knowing that it would be the last time I ever saw him.

“So many lives have been ruined by someone carrying a knife. It is not just Hakan's but mine, and everyone who is close to us.

“I don't think people think of the consequences when they carry knives."

Joanne told of their first meeting: “I was sat by the pool at our apartment, not long after I had gone out there.

“He walked past with his friends and blew me a kiss. Then one night I saw him and we started chatting.

"I thought he was lovely. He was just a really nice guy, and so handsome. I knew he was special."

Despite having to return back to Darwen and Hakan having to go into the army as part of Turkey's national service scheme, the couple vowed to stay together.

Joanne said: "We spoke on the phone, sent text messages and chatted through MSN and by using webcams.

“But we kept in touch in the old fashioned way too and sent each other letters. He loved chocolate so I was always posting it over to him, including a pair of chocolate lips for Valentines Day. It was even harder being apart on days like that."

The pair returned to Icmeler for a holiday in August last year, where Hakan proposed.

Joanne, nee Atkin, proudly wears her solid white gold engagement band on her right hand, in the Turkish tradition.

The couple married on September 18 this year.

Hakan died on October 3 after sustaining four stab wounds outside the Tsunami bar in the Cekirge district of Bursa.

Joanne said: "He had just been out enjoying himself. This is the last thing I thought would have happened.

"His sister rang me at tea time and said he was at the hospital and we were to pray for him.

"At first the doctors were positive about his condition. Then he had to have a four-hour operation. I was told his heart stopped once and they got him back but in the end his wounds were too serious and he wasn't taking to the blood they were giving him."

In the early hours of the morning Joanne received the phone call telling her that her new husband had died.

"I was just in shock" she said. "I just thought he had been injured. I didn't know how serious it was until afterwards. His family told me they would be burying him in the morning, in line with Muslim tradition, but thankfully they agreed to wait until I could get over there. I had to see him and to say goodbye."

Joanne now treasures the memories of the couple's wedding day, which took place on a boat in Icmeler.

"We planned it so that it would be a perfect day, which was quite hard to do because we were making arrangements across two countries and there was a lot of official things to do.

She said: "I always wanted to get married in pink so I chose a pink gown in England and my gran brought it over with her.

"My mum carried the wedding cake over with her. It had two little icing figures on it that looked like me and Hakan.

"It was such a fantastic day. We were so happy."

Joanne then had to return to the UK.

She said: "The idea was that I would come home and we would both save up money while we waited for his marriage visa. Hakan had been turned down for a vistor's visa but a marriage visa would mean he would be able to work and then we could start planning for the future.

"It was awful to have to leave him again because it was the start of our married life and we should have been together.

"The sad thing is that if he had been given the visitor visa then he would have been here and not in Turkey. But if I had been with him that night then he might not have been stabbed - or I might have been too. There are so many ifs and buts going round in my head."

Joanne's mum Kristine said: "It has been such a terrible thing to go through, becoming a widow at such a young age. All her dreams have gone now. All her plans for the future, for a family, everything has gone, but she is being so brave."

In a cruel twist Joanne's mobile phone, containing pictures and videos of Hakan, was stolen on her Blackpool hen night.

She said: "At the time it was just an annoying piece of bad luck but now that he is gone, all the special texts he sent me and the pictures we shared have gone too."

Two men have appeared in court in connection with Hakan's death and Joanne hopes to attend future court appearances. She will also be visiting Hakan's family in February for a special celebration to mark his birthday.