Turkey down the slippery road: stories of people in Izmir

"He has lost his mind and drags us to the abyss. I think, if I meet him somewhere and have a gun, I would shoot him. No kidding." says Aydin*.

By Mirela Zarichinova

Published: May 23, 2016, 10:05 pm

Izmir, Turkey. Pixabay. Some rights reserved.

I shudder. It’s not just the words but the fact that I’ve heard the same sentence for a second time this week in Izmir, Turkey. If you were here, in this small fish restaurant next to the sea side, you would be surprised as well.

Aydin looks like a polite, peaceful man, in his late 30s. He is originally from Istanbul, an engineer who moved to Izmir to open this restaurant where he welcomes tourists from all over the world. While he is telling us about Turkey’s current political situation, his eyes gently cross the tables in the almost empty restaurant. The above words put an end to our conversation about Izmir’s current tourism conditions. They are aiming at the president – Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The latter’s name quickly jumps into the conversation after we ask Aydin about his business.

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