Pre-Pandemic: Istanbul Apartment

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United States foreign service employees at the US Embassy get to stay in a really nice apartment complex in the heart of Istanbul Turkey. I did a drawing of the complex from a model in the lobby. The arching windows had an amazing view of the surrounding neighborhoods for miles. Right next door was a huge mall and several mom and pop restaurants which were packed at lunch time.

On June 11, 2020 Turkey announced opening the majority of its international air, land, and sea borders. The land border with Iran remains closed. The border with Syria remains closed. To date, tourist travelers do not need any specific health documentation to enter/exit Turkey unless they are arriving for medical treatment.

On August 5, 2020 Reuters reported that doctors in Turkey’s COVID-19 hots pots say hospitals are filling up with more cases than are reflected in the official nationwide count, which re surged above 1,000 this week.

The government, which lifted a partial lock down in June 2020 to restart the economy, sounded its own warning when the health minister described the 1,083 new COVID-19 cases as a “severe” rise after a four-day holiday weekend.

In response, authorities rolled out new inspections and enforcement measures, including fines for not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing. New cases had hovered just below 1,000 for more than three weeks, according to official figures.

All individuals in Turkey must wear cloth face coverings where people are collectively located, including supermarkets, marketplaces, hair salons, shopping malls, and workplaces as well as in all forms of transportation (including private vehicles) with at least two persons inside.

Pre-Pandemic: Square Outside Spice Bazaar

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Sketching in a public market makes me feel like I have a faint hint of what day to day life might be like ere I to live when I am traveling. This is a pre-pandemic sketch done inn a square outside the spice bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey. A mosque can be seen in the background of the sketch with it’s ornate architecture. I was more focused on the people however. They once gathered close to gossip and catch up in crowded groups. Today they would all be wearing masks of face a $129 fine.

On August 6, 2020 the CDC advised that the, “COVID-19 risk in Turkey is high. Travelers should avoid all nonessential international travel to Turkey. Some examples of essential travel may include traveling for humanitarian aid work, medical reasons, or family emergencies. Older adults, people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions, and others at increased risk for severe illness should consider postponing all travel, including essential travel, to Turkey.” The virus has decimated the Turkish economy.

COVID-19 research in Turkey is being stifled by the Ministry of Health which insisted on a mandatory application for permission for research on COVID-19. This unprecedented decision was against the Constitution and laws regulating research activities in Turkey. Most submitted projects have been approved by the Ministry of Health, but some projects, including a large, multi center observational study by the Turkish Thoracic Society, have been rejected without any clear explanation. Much like in America, politics Trump public health.

 

Pre-Pandemic: Spice Market Istanbul Turkey

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The Spice Market in Istanbul, Turkey is certainly an exciting subject to sketch. When I sketched, it was ahrd to find a spot to stay out of the way of the pressing crowds of shoppers. It is one of the largest bazaars in the city. Located in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district, it is the most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar. It was built in 1455, two years after the Ottomans seized Istanbul – then known as Constantinople – from the Byzantines. It’s Turkish name,  Kapalıçarşı means covered market.

The building itself is part of the complex of the New Mosque. The revenues obtained from the rented shops inside the bazaar building were used for the up keeping of the mosque . Spice Bazaar has a total of 85 shops selling spices, Turkish delight and other sweets, jewellery, souvenirs, and dried fruits and nuts. In recent years shops of other types are gradually replacing the sellers of spices.

The market is usually visited by 150,000 people every day – and by 42 million people last year – while traders shout out deals in dozens of languages to lure tourists into their stores.

After Turkey announced its first confirmed case in mid-March, 2020 health scans were carried out on all the market’s traders. Seven were confirmed to have COVID-19. They could have been infected by the many tourists in the packed confines of the market.

The Spice Market was closed on March 23, 2020 as part of measures to stem the spread of the COVID-19, which has killed over 4,300 people in Turkey. The market employs more than 30,000 people.

On May 28, 2020 municipal workers in full protective gear on disinfected the Spice Bazaar against COVID-19 ahead of its reopening. The team used a specific disinfectant that has no harm to people’s and animals’ health, the Fatih Municipality said at a statement. The bazaar opened its doors on June 1, 2020 as part of normalization from COVID-19 restrictions in the country. The market had been closed for two months, the longest closure in its 550 year history.

Shoppers have their temperatures checked for fevers upon entry, and the number of people allowed in at one time will be restricted. Traders are worried that the bazaar is unlikely to see many tourists for some time. Namık, a trader said, “We are at a low ebb. How will we pay the rent?” He added. “My shop remains open, but there are no customers. There’s no business.”

 

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.

Flight to DC then Turkey.

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 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.

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

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The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning ‘Covered Bazaar’; also Büyük Çarşı, meaning ‘Grand Bazaar) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it is listed number 1 among the world’s most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors.

The place is a cavernous riot of activity, bustle and bright colors. Beautiful mosaics cover much of the intricate inner arch ways. Red Turkish flags hung above many shop entrances. Terry of course shopped as I sketched.  I sat outside a jewelry shop and the shop owner took quite an interest in what I was doing. It is traditional to offer shoppers a cup of tea and I was offered a cup as well. You can see several tiny tea cups resting on a silver plate on the floor of my sketch. The merchant was in his late 50’s with a thick grey mustache’ He spoke fluent English and he told me That he has run the family business for over 30 years.  He also told me that much of the tile work was done by local students.

The construction of the Grand Bazaar Began in 1455 shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople and was finished in 1460. Fires, earthquakes and other calamities ravaged the market through it’s long history, but it always recovered. The uncovered streets around the market a r just as crowded and bustling. Terry and I took a culinary tour of the market to taste food from some of the hidden gems of restaurants that can be found everywhere. We sampled cheeses and learned how the locals shop. Shopping at the Bazaar is a real adventure. Finding Terry after the sketch was done was another adventure.

Istanbul Turkey Day 1.

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Terry’s niece Alison Brown works for the United States State Department and was stationed in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul is an exciting highly populated city that straddles Europe and Asia across
the Bosphorus Strait. The Old City reflects cultural influences of the
many empires that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet district, the
open-air, Roman-era Hippodrome was for centuries the site of chariot
races, and Egyptian obelisks remain. This is a city I would love to live in. There is so much history and culture that needs to be sketched.

Just getting from the airport, to Alison’s high rise apartment was an adventure. Once the taxi got off the highways, which were lavishly decorated with thousands of Daffodils, the side streets started snaking up hills. The streets get very narrow with cars are parked on both besides of the street . Every block becomes a game of dare as drivers face off for the narrow passage in opposite directions. Alison’s apartment building had guards at the driveway entrance with steel stanchions that could lower into the pavement when a car is cleared. One window of Alison’s apartment looked like it had been hit by a bullet causing a hairline crack. Alison didn’t think much of it. 

Terry played with Louie, Allison’s French Bulldog, as I did this sketch. Afterward, we explored the area to find a restaurant. Not knowing the language, we just pointed at item on the menu. Turkey never let us down, the food was always delicious. The hole in the wall restaurant we found turned out to be a place we returned to time time again.

Jesus Christ Superstar rehearses on the front porch of a Maitland Law Firm.

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Sylvia Katherine Viles is directing Jesus Christ Superstar. I met Sylvia at a casting call for the Petrified Forest this last year. She insisted I get in costume and get ghoulish make up so that I blended in with the cast. As I arrivedat the Jesus Christ Superstar rehearsal, the cast was on the porch stretching. Sylvia was her warm bubbly self and gave me a warm hug. She explained that, “JCS has been a bucket list show since I was a child. Since my singing
voice and gender have combined forces against me and the role of Judas
will alas never be mine, directing the show is my dream come true. Add
to the mix being able to do it at Bay Street Players, my home theater
and the excitement is literally bursting out of me.  For you
younger performers this was my “RENT” or “Spring Awakening”, “BARE”
etc., it was a show that spoke to me. It still speaks today.” As a child Sylvia grew up loving this show. Judas is portrayed as a caring person Who tried to save Jesus. It is a roll reversal similar to what you see in “Wicked”.

The cast was going to practice choreography on the steps to the porch. The final set will have a series of ascending steps so this was a perfect opportunity. They usually rehearse inside the building but there was some sort of open house going on.  Jesus was late. He thought the rehearsal was at 3pm. They needed to rehearse a musical number called “what’s the buzz“. Sylvia stepped in for Jesus and descended the steps as the cast knelt down beside her. Her shirt said “Bite me” on one of those candied hearts. She improvised her lines about how great her dad was and then the cast danced, doing hand slaps and then circling Jesus singing and clapping. Steven Johnson (aka Tim Gunn) did the choreography. New movements were worked in with each run through of the scene. A car leaving the parking lot broke up the action. I shouted “Car on stage!” and everyone scrambled up the steps to get out of the way. I think they should leave the car in the final stage production.

The cast then broke into groups and sang “When will we ride into Jerusalem?”  “What’s the buzz, tell me whats a happening.” They sang to each other as they sought gossip. The final run through was flawless and they cheered for having nailed down the blocking while maintaining spontaneity. The Sun had burst through the the trees heating up the porch steps, so Sylvia called a break and the next guerrilla rehearsal spot was on the driveway beside the house in the shade. I stayed behind and finished putting washes on the sketch. It was a gorgeous house and a beautiful, if hot day. I saw on a Facebook post later in the week a group photo of the cast that said, “The Cast of Jesus Christ Superstar doesn’t sweat, we sparkle!” You have to love such youthful exuberance. I’m a bit sad that I can’t see the final production because in a week ill be in Istanbul in Turkey which is a Middle Eastern country much like where these gospel stories first began.


Mark Your Calendars! Jesus Christ Superstar with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice will be performed at Bay Street Players (109 North Bay Street

Eustis, FL)  from April 10 to May 3, 2015. Get your tickets now.