Abu Dhabi: It is business as usual in Istanbul but worries of another coup or a civil war hang in the air following last weekend’s failed coup attempt.
“Life is back to normal but people are worried that Turkey will turn into another Syria or Libya. Tensions are very high and it feels like someone wants to start a civil war,” said Timur, 34-year-old from Istanbul.
“This kind of instability is how it started there (Syria) and look at them now,” he added.
But not everyone agrees that the source of worry among people is concerns over another coup or a civil war.
“Turkey will not walk in the same direction as Syria, it will never happen. We are strong and the people will not let it happen,” said 41-year-old Murat, a businessman from Istanbul.
According to Murat the images of the military soldiers stripped of their dignity is what has been very difficult for people to process and one that creates fear. “Soldiers beaten, arrested and killed are what is worrying people, because Turkish people have very high regards for our military and its personnel. To see them reduced to those images on TV, it is very worrisome,” he said.
“(Another) coup attempt is possible but this is not the way to change anything. We are a democratic country and we have laws that we can follow. I don’t think the Turkish people will allow it,” he added.
According to Murat life is back to normal and people were back to work on Monday as usual however, normality has come with a rather sombre mood as people try to deal with over 200 people killed and their livelihoods affected by businesses lost.
“My company had important meetings cancelled, tourism has been effected badly and many businesses rely on the tourist. It is sad and worrying,” he said.
Murat’s comments about normality and mood of the city were echoed by 29-year-old Nihal from Istanbul.
“Everything is back to normal. There are still protests in support of the government every night but it is safe,” she said.
“But people don’t feel like having fun and enjoying themselves. Everyone is sad about all those people killed,” she added.
Nihal did not think another coup was probable as the government had took control of the cities very quickly but said people were generally worried about the state of the military and the country’s future.
