Istanbul woke up today with one word on its collective lips. Election.
These were elections for local government officials. Yesterday, I popped into a local school around the corner, in Acibadem, which was turned into a polling station, to get a feeling of what was happening.
The turnout seemed high and people were queueing patiently. I would have loved to provide some pictures, but cameras, mobiles and smart watches were strictly prohibited. In a way I can understand this: having 10 million citizens (assuming 6 million are too young to vote, or aren’t voting for other reasons) pose for the perfect Instagram snap while casting their vote might have been an issue.
As always in Turkey, refreshments were available. Tea, toast, savory pastries for the hungry / thirsty voters.
We gathered in the evening to watch the election results and play the typical Turkish game OK!, in a typical Turkish tea house (Actually, not so typical: this was a non-smoking establishment, a rare find).
I will not comment on the election results, but here is a photo taken in the tea house. A modern flat screen TV, playing Fox news with the headline: First results soon on Fox news . Just below the TV, you can see a traditional Turkish rug, with geometric patterns, used to cover what I assume is quite an uninteresting cupboard.
Purple Travel Path 