Pre-Pandemic: Greek Island of Meis

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The Greek island of Kastellorizo – or Meis, as it’s known in Turkey is a short ferry ride from Kaş in Turkey. It is a hilly little island with plenty of gorgeously colorful tile roofed homes. Kastellorizo is  the name given to the island when it was administered by Italy, and it means Red Castle.

A hike up the hills outside of town offered an overall vista of the town below, but this is the only sketch I squeezed in for the day. The town itself is fascinating to explore with narrow alley ways between building and many staircases going up hills. This peaceful island is worthy of weeks of exploration with a sketchbook in hand.

The quiet waters around this island have become a scene of international contention. Turkey and Greece, NATO allies, vehemently disagree over overlapping claims to oil and gas drilling rights in the region based on conflicting views on the extent of their continental shelves in waters dotted with mostly Greek islands. Tensions rose when Turkey sent a seismic research ship, Oruc Reis, on Monday August 10, 2020 to a disputed area of the Mediterranean, accompanied by warships, days after Greece signed a maritime deal with Egypt. The maritime deal set the sea boundary between the two countries and demarcated an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights.

The deal was a response to a similar agreement between Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based government last year that has spiked tensions in the East Mediterranean region. The Turkey-Libya deal was widely dismissed by Egypt, Cyprus and Greece as an infringement on their economic rights in the oil-rich sea. The European Union says it’s a violation of intentional law that threatens stability in the region.

Hakar said Turkey would continue to defend its “rights, ties and interests” in coastal waters. “It should be known that our seas are our blue homeland. Every drop is valuable,” he said. Turkey says it has the longest coastline in the eastern Mediterranean but that it is penned in to a narrow strip of waters due to the extension of Greece’s continental shelf, based on the presence of many Greek islands near its shore.

Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over sea boundaries but recent discoveries of natural gas and drilling plans across the east Mediterranean have exacerbated the dispute.

Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean took a dangerous new turn on Aug. 13 as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ramped up his hawkish rhetoric against Greece. He warned Greece that if it were to attack a Turkish seismic research ship deployed off a small Greek island, it would “pay a heavy price.” His assertive stance in the eastern Mediterranean maritime dispute is being challenged by a bloc comprising Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and France.

France, a NATO ally has deployed warships to disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean in support of Greece. France’s move came after a phone call Wednesday August 12, 2020 between French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Elysee Palace said in a statement that France was going to “temporarily reinforce” its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean so as to “better monitor” the area and ensure that “international law is respected.”

European Union foreign ministers were holding urgent talks Friday August 14, 2020 on military tensions between Greece and Turkey as the neighboring countries’ navies continued a game of brinkmanship over eastern Mediterranean drilling rights.

The Wonderful World of Testing

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Walt Disney World cast members will get COVID-19 testing after a dispute about cast safety fought by the actors Union. Florida will begin providing COVID-19 testing for Walt Disney World cast members this week, ending a nearly two-month dispute with Actors’ Equity Association, a union that represents stage actors at the park. According to Disney, the testing site will be run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and will be located on Disney property, though not in the park. Testing will be available to Disney employees and visitors, as well as Florida residents.

According to Kate Shindle, president of the Actors’ Equity Association, the union has signed a memorandum of understanding with Disney for hundreds of actors to return to work. The union began pushing Disney World to offer testing for its members in late June, before the park’s July reopening. Disney asked several hundred Union actors to return to work in July, but they refused to provide testing at the time. Those actors could not get back to work until the dispute was resolved. The Union claimed that Disney “retaliated” against its members over their demand for regular Covid-19 testing for employees. The Actors’ Equity Association represents about 750 actors at Disney World. Actors had to battle the broken Department of Economic Opportunity system to survive.

Disney officials said in a notice to its workers that there would be a dedicated testing lane for its workers and their families, and that reservations could be made for testing starting Thursday August 17, 2020. “As a reminder, testing is voluntary and cast members will not be paid for testing time,” the notice said. The testing center will be located outside the Disney Maingate Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, and will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The tests will be administered cast member’s vehicles, and results will take three to five days.

Disney said Tuesday August 4, 2020 that it lost $4.72 billion in the three months that ended June 27, 2020 compared to a profit of $1.43 billion in the year-earlier period. Disney could be on track to lose around $1 billion in earnings before interest and taxes each month from its parks being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Disney Theme park projects are likely to be canceled due to the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

5G COVID Conspiracy Theory

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5G is the next generation of wireless network technology that is steadily being rolled out across the United States and around the world. It provides faster data speeds and network capacity than existing 4G LTE technology.

An implausible 5G Conspiracy theory is based on the strange notion that the launch of 5G caused the spread of COVID-19. With social media platforms plagued by the spread of misinformation, this idea circulated like wildfire. The basic premise was that COVID-19 was man-made or something evil, a sort of viral Frankenstein. One version of the conspiracy goes like this, the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a strategy conceived by global elites to roll out vaccinations with tracking chips that would later be activated by 5G, the technology used by cellular networks.

More than 70 cellphone towers were set on fire in the United Kingdom in April and May because of their alleged link to the spread of the virus. Other arsonists struck around the world, while a woman in North Carolina fired her gun at cell phone workers as they worked on a tower. This is like the villagers taking to the streets with torches and pitchforks to corner the monster.

This level of fear inspired irrationality reminded me of the 1938 Orson Wells produced radio play War of the Worlds. This radio broadcast had residents in New Jersey running for the hills  and shooting at water towers thinking the Martians were attacking. The mind can become unhinged in times of crisis.

“The weight of scientific evidence has not effectively linked exposure to radio frequency energy from mobile devices with any known health problems,” the FCC noted.  I’m left wondering why these conspiracy theorists wear face masks if they believe the towers cause the infection. Tech companies have had struggled to combat COVID-19 misinformation. As long as the pandemic has been in the news, there has been an endless torrent of false information about it.

“People are drawn to conspiracy theories during periods of crisis and uncertainty, and this is certainly one of those times,” Karen Douglas, a professor of psychology told the HuffPost. By connecting dots, conspiracy theories take the unknown out of the equation and give people a sense of control. Even if the belief is untrue, having some sort of explanation for what’s going on can be soothing.

The reality of the situation is that COVID-19 was naturally caused, and we don’t know how to stop it from spreading yet. That is scary. If a person believes 5G towers caused COVID-19, they have something concrete to fight rather than facing the unknown. A study from Princeton University found that social isolation is linked to dark, superstitious thinking. People have more time for conspiratorial thinking. People who believe in conspiracy theories are more likely to be associated with prejudice, violence and crime.

Of course the president of the United States is often guilty of spreading these conspiracy theories leading to a perfect storm of stupid. He has even Tweeted that the CDC and media are lying about the virus to hurt his re-election chances. He has troubles with his priorities. He loves throwing gasoline on the fire.

One thing we can all do to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories is to look for trusted, reliable information backed by facts and science and maybe some art.

Sputnik V

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Russian President Vladimir Putin just approved a COVID-19 vaccine for use in tens of thousands of people, though it has not been thoroughly tested for effectiveness. One of Putin’s daughters had received the inoculation.  “She has taken part in the experiment,” Putin said, according to the Associated Press.

The vaccine was named Sputnik V, in reference to the world’s first artificial satellite, launched during the space race back in the 1960s. Putin said, “We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for our country and the entire world,” Putin said in a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, August 11, 2020 in reference to the vaccine developers. There is no published data from early human tests of the vaccine and no late-stage human trials currently underway. Early human tests of the Russian vaccine began in mid-June and included 76 participants, but no data from those trials has been released, according to The Associated Press. 

Scientists worry that there was no phase 3 clinical trial, which is the final stage of testing required for a vaccine to be approved. Phase 3 trials, which include thousands to 30 thousand volunteers, can compare rates of infection between those who are vaccinated and those who get a placebo. In other words, only phase 3 trials can demonstrate that a vaccine prevents COVID-19 infection.

Russia plans to begin such tests of its already approved vaccine on Aug. 12, 2020. Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told reporters, according to The Associated Press. The phase 3 trial will include “several thousand” participants from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and possibly Brazil, Dmitriev said. But before any data from that trial becomes available, Russia will offer the vaccine to tens of thousands of people, he added. “People outside of clinical trials will have access to the vaccine in August, and some, already on a massive scale, in October,” Dmitriev said.

Without phase 3 data, however, there’s no way to know the vaccine will protect most people who receive it; in addition, rare side effects associated with the vaccine may only emerge as more and more individuals get the injection. Despite not sharing solid proof that its vaccine is both safe and effective, Russia has reportedly received requests from more than 20 countries for access to Sputnik V, Dmitriev said, according to Reuters.

It will be made available first Russia’s front line public-service workers, such as medics and teachers, before being released to the general public, said Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko. Medics could have access to it as early as late August or early September, according to the agency.

In testimony to a congressional committee on July 31, 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are actually testing the vaccine before they are administering the vaccine to anyone. Because claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing is, I think, problematic at best.” according to CNN. Fauci added that he remained optimistic that the US would be able to produce its own vaccine by the end of the year, while not cutting corners with safety standards.

Researchers around the world are developing more than 165 vaccines against the coronavirus, and 30 vaccines are in human trials. Vaccines typically require years of research and testing before reaching the clinic, but scientists are racing to produce a safe and effective vaccine by next year. Some trials will fail, and others may end without a clear result. But a few may succeed in stimulating the immune system to produce effective antibodies against the virus.

In he United States, Moderna is developing vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce viral proteins in the body. They have yet to bring one to the market. In partnership with National Institutes of Health, they found that the vaccine protects monkeys from the coronavirus. In March, the company put the first Covid-19 vaccine into human trials, which yielded promising results, After carrying out a Phase 2 study they launched a Phase 3 trial on July 27. The final trial will enroll 30,000 healthy people at about 89 sites around the United States. The government has bankrolled Moderna’s efforts with nearly $1 billion in support. There will be results from the Moderna study in the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest.

President Donald Trump says he’s “optimistic” that his “Operation Warp Speed” program might have a vaccine ready around Election Day, and it “wouldn’t hurt” his chances against former Vice President Joe Biden. But having a vaccine available for widespread public use before 2021 is unrealistic, according to public health experts, including the Coronavirus Task Force’s Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The Soviet Union vaccine announcement was a political PR stunt to be the first to offer a virus even if it isn’t safe or effective. Trump has already floated the idea of using disinfectants to battle the virus so it isn’t far fetched to speculate that he might also force an untested vaccine to market to help his re-election results. He doesn’t care if the voters are alive after the election.

God’s Got You Covered

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Schools are opening despite a steep rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths. In the coming weeks 51 million students will return to school and have to balance learning with health concerns. Schools don’t have the budgets to truly create safe learning environments. Some teachers are given a single bottle of sanitizer and told they must supply any other needs themselves.

In Dallas Georgia, Hannah Watters, a North Paulding High School student, took a photo of a crowded hallway as students waited to get to class. Few students had masks on, and there was no social distancing. The student who took that photo was suspended. After the photo went viral, the principle revered his decision.This student however is getting threats online from fellow students. One student pointed out in an online  group that he knows where she lives. Another said she will have a rough day come Monday. Three days after the photo was taken, 9 students tested positive for COVID-19. The school is having to shut down to disinfect.

In another viral photo, a young girl was surrounded by her smiling parents and she held up a sign that said, “Take your mask off, God’s got you covered.” That judgemental sign must have been dictated by her parents. Anti Maskers are emboldened by our sad excuse of presidential leadership in Trump. Anti maskers claim the crisis is overblown, the death rate is minuscule and only affects the weak, and it’s time to stop living in fear. They are tired of social isolation and want everything to magically return to normal. They believe the COVID-19 scare is a hoax designed to destroy America and that masks are for wimps. They say open the bars, open the malls. Time to party! God’s got y’all covered! So many of my Florida neighbors share these selfish sentiments. I avoid them like the plague.

Rather than love, this un-Christian message conveys self-righteous. It made me wonder how Jesus might have my back. Would he protect me from the unseen virus with his hands? Then I thought, well, his hands wouldn’t make the best mask since the hole from the nail that punctured his palms would let in plenty of virus.

Anti-maskers are rebelling against even the simplest guidelines, while teachers and other staffers say they won’t go to work if schools aren’t safe. About 28% of public school teachers are over age 50, making them especially vulnerable to the virus. Many would rather retire that risk their health. Teachers want  widespread testing of students, staff and visitors for the virus. In Orange County Florida, all 212,000 students learning online for first 9 days of the school year.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams addressed those who don’t want to wear a mask: “taking these public health measures will help you be able to do more of the things that you enjoy, worship, school, restaurants.”

Hell, Hug Em!

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Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis suggested that hugging nursing home residents who are vulnerable to COVID-19 if fine so long as you wear PPE. He is notorious for wearing one blue glove during a press conference and not knowing how to put on a mask. He spoke against “fixating” on testing for COVID-19 when developing plans for allowing loved ones to visit vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities.

He said, “Do not only fixate on testing… look, I’m comfortable with the PPE,” DeathSantis said. “Hell, hug ’em, I mean come on. If you have PPE on and you hug and don’t sneeze or do something on them, you’re going to be fine… obviously, if you’re there for 30 minutes doing that and then you do, well then that’s going to be a different situation.” He followed with, “But to just have… just go give a hug, I think you could do that, and I think that would be very meaningful,” he added. “I kind of feel like to stay six feet away, it’s kind of still, you know, providing the reminder that it’s still not normal… so I do think the touch is important.”

Yesterday Florida saw over 16,000 new cases of COVID-19 as testing re-opened after testing sites were shut down due to the hurricane. That is a new record for any state of recorded cases in a single day. To date the state has 550,101 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 8238 deaths.

Despite the surge, DeathSantis hopes to again allow visits to nursing and other care homes, which had been halted in mid-March when the Florida outbreak was much smaller. He supports immediately allowing those who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to visit loved ones, claiming that a positive antibody test indicates that a person is immune to the virus for “six months.” There is no clear consensus among experts that an antibody test proves a person is immune to the virus. There are over 11,000 cases of COVID-19 in Retirement Communities and over 2900 deaths.

In an interview with CNN‘s Brianna Keilar, Dr. Adrian Burrowes from Orlando said it is reckless and irresponsible for Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis to say it is safe to hug with PPE on during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A hug can communicate that we are safe, that we are loved and that we are not alone. However in the age of COVID-19, the safest thing is to avoid hugs. If you need a hug, take precautions. Wear a mask. Hug outdoors. Try to avoid touching the other person’s body or clothes with your face and your mask. Don’t hug someone who is coughing or has other symptoms. Try not to cry. Tears and runny noses increase the risk for coming into contact with more fluids that contain the virus.

Pre-Pandemic: Letoon Turkey

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Letoon Turkey, was a sanctuary of Leto near the ancient city Xanthos in Lycia. It was one of the most important religious centers in the region. Leto was one of the female Titans, a bride of Zeus, and the mother of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. She was the goddess of motherhood and, with her children, a protectress of the young. Her name and iconography suggest she was also a goddess of modesty and womanly demure.

The archaeological finds at the site, date back to the late sixth century BC. The foundations of the Hellenistic temple dedicated to Leto, and her children, Artemis and Apollo, have been excavated under the direction of H. Metzger from 1962. Archeologists have excavated much of the ruins; discoveries include the Letoon trilingual, bearing inscriptions in Greek, Lycian and Aramaic, which has provided crucial keys in the deciphering of the Lycian language; it is conserved in the Fethiye Museum.

The sun was beginning to set as I sketched among the ruins. I remember a cat wandering among the ancient collapsed pillars and an incredible army of tadpoles in a large puddle at the base of the temple. I could hear the evening prayers as they re broadcast from  the high minaret in the distance. Muslims across the country would stop what they were doing when this call to prayer echoed through he villages.

Thousands Gathered at Hagia Sophia

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Thousands gathered at Hagia Sophia for the first Friday Prayers when the former museum was opened as a Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Many wore masks and others chin straps in the blazing heat. Thousands of police were scattered among the shoulder to shoulder crowd to maintain the peace. People crowded up against police barricades hoping to get close to the mosque.

The building was a Christian Byzantine cathedral for 900 years before being seized by Ottoman conquerors and serving as a mosque until 1934. Inside are historic Christian mosaics on the walls and domed ceilings. In 1934 the building became a museum and remained so until just last month when a Turkish court annulled Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan immediately turned it back into a mosque. He was front and center at the July 24, 2020 first prayers. Erdogan, in power for 17 years, may have converted the museum into a Mosque to placate his conservative base whose support has eroding due to economic despair and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inside, large scaffolding was erected in the middle of the structure and drapery hid the Christian mosaics. The conversion triggered fierce criticism from Christian church leaders, who said that exclusively Muslim worship risked deepening religious divisions. Turkey says the site will remain open for visitors and its Christian artworks will be protected.

I was shocked at how close people packed together to worship. Two hours before prayers started, areas outside the building were filled to capacity and the authorities had to deny entry over concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Turkey saw its highest spike in new cases on April 11, 2020. To date the country has had 5,813 COVID-19 related deaths.  Since the opening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, Covid-19 has spread fast in major Turkish cities according to Health Ministry data. Over the past few weeks, health authorities have been warning that citizens are acting as if the threat has disappeared, and daily new cases surpassed 1,000 for the first time in about a month on Tuesday August 4, 2020.

The government is discussing restrictions on movement or limiting social interaction in certain districts. Plans are not finalized. Police are conducting mass inspections looking to catch violations of rules put in place to stem the COVID-19 outbreak. Anyone found not wearing protective masks and maintaining a social distance of at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) were warned and fined. The strict measures are a consequence of concerns over a new surge in cases while some people are ditching masks and overcrowded has become common. An army of 250,000 inspectors found people conveniently tucking masks into their handbags or pockets, only to rush to wear them when seeing uniforms. Some claimed they would not be recognized while wearing a mask which is ironic since so many Muslim women cover their faces with a niqāb. A few women did worship at the opening prayers at Hagia Sophia from a hallway.

Turkey was one of the first countries to suffer in the first months of the pandemic and they do not want to experience a second wave. The ministry warned it would not accept any violations from anyone who didn’t wear a mask and maintain social distancing at gatherings such as weddings or circumcision ceremonies. Those who refused would face fines and temporary closures.

Pre-Pandemic: Hotel Bella

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Hotel Bella in Selçuk, Turkey is right down the street from The Grand Byzantine Fortress, which can be seen in this sketch. This is a view from the room of the street below. Storks had set up a nest on a pole right outside the window and I couldn’t resist sketching them as they organized the sticks on the perimeter of the nest.

The Grand Byzantine Fortress or Ayasuluk Castle, lies on a hill in the town of Selçuk, in the province of Izmir in Turkey. It is situated just a mile from the site of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus. Ephesus was initially a harbor city but the continually silting up of its harbor eventually made it an inland site situated about 3 miles from the sea at present. The fortress was built using stones from disused Greek and Roman buildings. Entry to the citadel from the south was through the Gate of Persecution, which first led into the Basilica.

Over the centuries, people from the harbor site gradually migrated towards the citadel on the hill as the harbor continued to silt up and residents battled malaria. By the end of the Byzantine period the harbor was abandoned, and Ephesus was centered around the fortress.

Inside the fortress ruins there are the remains of a small ruined mosque, a part of a former church turned into a cistern, a couple of Ottoman cisterns and ground plans of a couple of houses.

Turkey is one of the few countries that still allows American tourists to visit. Americans have become pariahs on the wold stage for their inability to control the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

Passengers arriving in Turkey will be required to complete an information form and will be checked for symptoms. Anyone suspected of having COVID-19 will be transported to a hospital for examination. If an individual on a particular aircraft/vehicle/vessel is found to have COVID-19, the information forms completed upon arrival will be used to identify others who have been in contact with them; those individuals will then also be subject to 14-day isolation/quarantine.

U.S. Citizens flying from the United States may only enter via CDC-approved airports and should follow COVID-19 restrictions in place at their final destination. Air travelers are advised to include their travel document (Passport/I-551) information in their reservations to help ensure they do not encounter issues when boarding flights. A list of approved airports along with arrival information for international travelers entering the United States is available here. U.S. citizens planning travel into and out of Turkey with stops in the European Union (EU) should check specific country restrictions on the EU website.

80th Sturgis Bike Rally

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On August 5,2020 South Dakota reported 89 new cases of COVID-19 and one death over the last two weeks. Kristi Noem the state governor never issued any state mandates to help curb the spread of the virus instead trusting in the citizens of her state to do the right thing to stay safe in the midst of a pandemic. Noem on July 28, 2020 said she will push for schools to stay open this fall, and disparaged any requirements for children to wear masks in classrooms.

The 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will be expecting 250,000 bikers to descend on the South Dakota city. The bikers will assemble from August 7 to 16, 2020. This could become the biggest mass gathering anywhere since pandemic began. Sturgis, a city of about 7,000 residents, was hesitant to again host the week long event during a pandemic. Many worry that the rally might cause an unmanageable outbreak of COVID-19. To date Meade County where Sturgis is located, has reported 82 COVID-19 infections and 1 death.

In a survey of residents conducted by the city, more than 60% said the rally should be postponed. But businesses pressured the City Council to proceed. An attorney wrote to the Sturgis City Council reminding them that a judge found the city does not solely own rights to the rally and threatened to sue if the city tried to postpone.

The city will provide ppe to businesses that will be working during the rally, and recommend sanitizing stations and 50% capacity at bars and restaurants. However these are just suggestions which are not legally enforceable.

Organizers were emboldened by the President’s July 3 fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore. Event organizers are counting on drunken attendees to politely social distance. Sturgis officials realized the rally would happen whether they wanted it or not. They decided to try to scale it back, canceling city-hosted events and slashing advertising for the rally. Others thing that this might be the biggest event in America since all others were canceled for public safety. This could be the bikers Woodstock of the pandemic.

After all the bikers leave the city of Sturgis will conduct a massive testing program hoping to catch and contain any virus that might be left behind. The bikers will ride back to their home states to share the experience and perhaps the virus with friends and family.