After more than three years in Turkey, two Syrian families have returned home to Aleppo, thanks to one Istanbul municipality. CGTN's Natalie Carney traveled 15 hours by bus from Istanbul to Azaz in Syria to be with the families for their reunion with family and friends.

We arrived in the Turkish border town of Kilis just as the sun broke.

Luggage and donations were transferred to vehicles belonging to Turkey's disaster and Emergency Management or AFAD who will take the families into Syria.

AFAD is also working in camps across Turkey and in Syria as well as improving conditions in liberated areas.

DR. MEHMET GULLUOGLU HEAD OF AFAD "In Azaz, in Al-bab, in Ar-Rai, in Jarabulous. Now the hospitals are servicing for the people, the schools are repaired, the mosques are repaired, and for infrastructure, for giving the electricity, forgiving the water, for giving the other infrastructure are also supported by Turkey and life is normalizing. And by these better life conditions, people can go back. And until now more than 150,00 people went back voluntarily."

This return has been made possible by Turkish military operations in northern Syria, which have managed to clear an area of 4,000 square kilometers from terrorist groups.

Our convoy approaches the Oncupinar border crossing.

According to Turkish officials, some 60,000 refugees have return to Syria through this crossing since 2015 and that number continues to rise, so much so Turkey is preparing to open a new border crossing in the coming months that will enable a direct access to the Afrin district in north-west Syria.

The bus erupted into song as we enter Syria. This was the first time both families had been in the war-torn country in over 3 years. Yehya calls his family immediately to tell them he is "home".

Turkish tanks pass us the country's army continues to fight pockets of terrorists. They are also working to de-mine the area so more people can return.

The destruction and economic hardships from seven years of war are hard to ignore.

We arrive at the main bus depot, where Yehya finally gets to hug his family. 

NATALIE CARNEY AZAZ, SYRIA "We are here at the main bus station in the town of Azaz, just across into Syria from the Turkish border. We're trying to establish if there is some mode of transportation to take the families to the city of Aleppo. There doesn't seem to be at this time, so what we are going to do is go to the relatives of one of the family's, spend the night there and then hopefully tomorrow there will be a bus to Aleppo."

We all clamber back onto the bus and drive through the rundown streets of Azaz until we get to Yehya's brother's house.

An FSA soldier stands guard while we are present.

Yehya reunites with all his nieces and nephews and even meets new ones.

YEHYA OMAR SHUGHOUR RETURNING SYRIAN REFUGEE "I am very happy more than you can imagine because I saw my land and my family. I came back to my people and I wish to die here rather than in another country. I will be a martyr."

As the men bring in the luggage, I ask Yehya's brother, a baker, why he chose to stay.

ZAKARIYA OMAR CHABBI YEHYA'S BROTHER "We moved from one town to another. From one governorate to another, like that and, praise God, our business is getting better here. Turkey requires young people and I only have one boy here. Turkey requires young people with energy to work but I don't have any."

According to the UN more than 6.5 million people are internally displaced, while a further 5.6 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring countries.

These two families may be back in their own country, but with Syria still in war, it's hard to say when they will return to the life they once knew or if they ever will.

Natalie Carney CGTN, Azaz, Syria.