Week in review: 18 – 24 July 2016

This week I’ve thought for the first time how much Turkey can exhaust people. It is tiring when you always have to pay attention, when you have to be careful what you say to whom, when you don’t know what might happen on the following day … It is not that my week wasn’t pleasant at all. But every time I watched or read news, another decision unsettling most was published. My friends and family asked me if I couldn’t leave the country earlier than I have planned. I got an email from a previous colleague saying he and his Turkish wife immediately left the country. I have friends who consider moving to other countries as soon as possible. I talked to people in hotels and restaurants who say tourism in Turkey is dead.

And part of me wanted to leave immediately. Get out before my big mouth opens in the wrong situation. But my heart was all against leaving. I’ve just been to amazing places in the country that I still feel home in. Also I am afraid that once I leave this time, it might take many years until I return. So I sit on an Aegean beach and try to sleep. Because, surly, when we sleep long enough, we must feel well rested – but this time we might all need a deep sleep à la Sleeping Beauty.

|Watched| the news
|Read| The lion of Mistra, Sorry Walter, Love potions, The one plus one
|Listened to| my Spotify playlists, Leonard Cohen
|Done| explored Gaziantep, went on a day trip to Kilis, returned to the Aegean, visited Ephesus
|Eaten| way too much of everything
|Drunk| water, coffee, tea, raki
|Thought| And so Atatürk’s Republic died.
|Been happy| when I met my friends who live here
|Laughed| there wasn’t exactly much to laugh about
|Desired| common sense for a lot of people
|Bought| only entrance tickets, food
|Clicked| usually maps to see where I actually was

© janavar

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