A campaign to convert dollars into Turkish lira to stop the steep rise of the U.S. currency has found support among Syrians. A group of Syrian businesspeople and journalists, who took shelter in the country after fleeing their war-torn country, converted about $1 million in total, earning praise from local authorities.The campaign, underway since the rapid plunge of the currency in recent weeks, got a major boost from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who urged everyone to exchange hard cash for gold. The call by the charismatic leader, credited with ending the July 15 coup attempt by mobilizing the public to resist against coup troops, got an overwhelming response with people everywhere flocking to currency exchange offices and jewelry stores to get their dollars exchanged.Syrians joined the mayor of Gaziantep, a southeastern province that serves as a major host of Syrians due to its proximity to the border, at a press conference about the exchange. Mayor Fatma Şahin, who described Syrians as "brothers and sisters", said they showed they sided with Turkey by heeding the call by President Erdoğan. "We are pleased with this act, not because of the amount of money they converted but for their stance. They exhibited their brotherhood and sisterhood and I thank everyone who contributed to this campaign for this reason," she said.Khaled Babli, who heads the Association of Syrian Businessmen (SİAD), said they converted some $1 million into Turkish lira in just three days and they would mobilize more Syrians to do the same. "Almost all our members are exporters and thus, their revenues are based on dollars. They immediately convert dollars into Turkish lira to help the campaign," Babli said, noting that it was a sign of gratitude for Turkey's support to Syrians. The country hosts nearly 3 million Syrians, one of the highest among countries hosting people who fled the five-year-old civil war in Syria, Turkey's southern neighbor.In the past two weeks, people all around the country flocked to currency exchange bureaus to get rid of their dollars.To further drive the exchanges, small businesses all across the country have come up with incentives in the form of free gifts for anyone exchanging a certain amount of dollars, be it a free meal in a restaurant or a free haircut by barbers, in return of receipts showing they converted dollars into Turkish lira.