Bayram 2020 and Coronavirus

Starting today, Ramadan ends and Bayram starts. Normally, from what I've read, it is four days of celebration; visiting friends and family, gifts to the children, big celebratory meals with friends and family - not too dissimilar to the Christian Christmas?

 it's also a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, leading in to what is normally half term and there are no special measures in place. You can, if you wish, travel to the parks or beaches for a picnic; hopefully you will only meet up with one other person outside your household. If you do go to a country beauty spot or the beach, remember there are no public toilets open for you.

 Here in Turkey, we entered a 100% curfew from midnight Friday and it lasts for the whole of the four day 'holiday'. People have been able to walk to their nearest shop for essentials (getting bread daily is a thing here) for limited hours today. Other than that, we all have to stay home until just after midnight Wednesday. So, we will all make the most of it.

 In the last 7 days, the UK has had 14034 cases whereas Turkey has had 6433, 46% of the UK figure. At the same time, there have been a total of 180 new deaths in Turkey, as low as 9% of the UK's 1927 new cases.

    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dolmus - the Turkish mini-bus

Image
When I visited Turkey for the first time in 2004, the holiday reps in Olu Deniz told us about the dolmus with stories of them being old and battered, fitted with kitchen chairs strapped to the side to offer additional seating, everyone crammed in regardless of numbers and don't be surprised if someone gets on with a goat or hens.  Oh, and you get on sit down and pass your fare along the other passengers to the driver.   Whilst I didn't see any goats, hens or other animals on a dolmus, they were a bit old and battered and I once had to sit on a cushion placed on a wheel arch as a seat. On my return to Olu Deniz the following year, the old dolmus had been replaced with very modern, white mini-buses with automatic opening doors in the middle, proper seats, buzzers to request a stop and a limit on the number of passengers. I don't have a lot of experience of using buses back home but one day, I had decided to get one in to Halifax and I needed to be there by 12pm.  Me ...
Read more

When it rains, it rains

According to the BBC's weather app, today in Kusadasi we will have 'light rain showers and light winds' and it will last all day.  I have only ever seen heavy rain here, not light showers, although it generally doesn't last for long. Yesterday, after heavy rain and thunderstorms earlier in the day, we had warm sunshine later on. We've had lightning and thunderstorms this morning which normally knock out the internet but, fingers crossed, it's OK at the moment. Already, I can see the sky clearing up to the northwest and, whilst still heavy, the rain has eased off slightly from when I took the videos.  The chair at the far end of the terrace, started off next to the table!
Read more

Stormy Weather

Image
As I lay in bed last night reading, I heard a distant rumbling and at first thought it was a car coming on the complex but as it repeated and started to grow louder I realised it was thunder.  It hadn't been forecast; not on my BBC weather app, anyway.  It got louder and louder until I was in no doubt that it was thunder.  I had a quick peek out of the window but there was no rain......... Eventually, I drifted to sleep only to be woken very suddenly by an extremely loud, overhead explosion of thunder and lightning.  I decided to take another peek out of the window only to see absolutely torrential rain coming down.  So I jumped out of bed to go close the lounge full length window/doors which I leave open all the time as they aren't accessible from outside.  Luckily, being set back 40 cms from the outer walls, no rain had come in.  The washing I'd left on the airer on the terrace was protected but I took it in, just in case. I decided to chance leaving...
Read more