A couple of years ago, my X and I went to Turkey to visit her niece Allison Brown
who works for the United States foreign service. At the time we visited
Allison, she said that her job might get very complicated if there was
politically charged dissent in the country. Her hotel had metal posts at
a guard booth that were intended to stop any terrorist threat of, let’s
say, a bomb filled truck. Luckily, she is now working in Washington
D.C.during the time of the present civil unrest.
Turkey has been in the news recently with a huge “March for Justice” that ended in Istanbul. Hundreds of thousands of people joined the rally in Istanbul following the 25 day long march to protest the government of president Recip Tayyip Erdogen. The government has been cracking down against any perceived threats after a failed coup last summer. The president was granted sweeping new powers after a controversial referendum in April. Erdogen claims to be cracking down on those who support militant organizations, but the government definition of what constituted backing terrorism is so broad that it has led to the arrest of thousands of civil servants, journalists, campaigners and other workers. Protesters demanded “Rights, Laws, Justice.” Also since this trip, Washington Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Turkish Consulate. What seemed like a gorgeous country to visit turned out to be dangerous.
The trip began with a flight to Washington D.C. where we would transfer to the international flight to Istanbul. I can never sleep on a plane, so the sketch pad invariably comes out.
It is a chance for me to check for the closest emergency exits and observe my fellow passengers.
Of course the flight from Orlando to D.C. wasn’t too long, but the flight to Istanbul was eternal. I watched plenty of movies and the progress map to pass the time after the sketch was done. Sketching on a plane is a thing that can only amuse me once a day. I don’t tend to like sitting in an audience staring at the back of heads and that is the only view available on an airplane. I can also easily pass the time watching the clouds which make amazing patterns, but this was an overnight flight which meant it was pitch black outside and everyone had their blinds down.