It was a busy week last week...

There's not a lot that I worry about in Istanbul. There are worries, that are often discussed over beer with good friends, but I don't walk around Istanbul scared that any of the below list will actually victimize me. Rather, I take an academic interest in these potential disasters, because they always seem inevitable. The inevitability of the event has nurtured a desire to witness it, a desire to share with Istanbullu (Istanbul natives) the experience and a part of the collective memory. I'm not saying I want to be where it happens, and certainly not suffer from it, but I do want to know more about the event and learn of it through talking with Istanbullu. This might be a journalistic impulse, or that of the oral historian, or plain dumb, but I'd be lying if I denied it.

So, I'm miffed that my exile in Ankara condemned me to miss three out of the five on the list.


Top Five Lurking, Completely Random, and Imminent Fears of Sean Cox in Istanbul:

5. Getting stabbed by a glue-sniffer.
On a scale of 1-17 (as a good friend used to say), 1 being the least likely and 17 the most likely, I project the odds that I may be attacked by a crazy person sniffing glue at about a 4 (though with the present state of unemployment and political disenfranchisement, this number is likely to rise). This is the only thing I ever really worry about in Istanbul, and usually I keep an eye out to avoid situations where I might bump into people high on inhaled household products.

4.5 Blindness from drinking bad Rakı
I only worry about this when I'm drinking suspicious tasting rakı, the anise-flavored alcohol that is oh-so-good with fish and cheese. A few years ago, a moon-shine rakı was "accidentally" bottled by YeniRakı, a major producer of the stuff. A number of people died and several were struck blind. Like I said, it's only a worry when the restaurant you're in runs out of the quality stuff, and instead brings you their "special brew" in a fish bowl from behind the bleach on the counter.

4. Terrorism
Terrorism is a funny concept, and one I generally struggle to wrap my mind around. Depending on who you are and your intentions when you kill innocent people, you are a terrorist. If you attack police, military, jandarm, armed contractors, paramilitaries, or spies, you are also a terrorist (the same is not true of them if they attack you or innocent people). I could lump terrorism in with number two, because the tactics are similar and the experiences at the business end of it are basically the same. It makes me sad, but Turks seem to accept that armed groups (government/military affiliated or ideologically driven) will employ terror against random and unsuspecting civilians, in order to make a point. In any event, I never fear that this will happen to me in Turkey. The glue-sniffers pose a more realistic threat.

3. Tanker Ship Collision in the Bosphorus
The fear is not so much the collision itself, as what might happen to the contents of the tanker involved. Petroleum or chemical products may explode. Other chemical products may seep out and cause illness or death. A major tear in the side of the tanker may enable the glue-sniffing terrorists inside to escape and go on a rampage through the city. You get the picture.

2. Military Coup
This is higher on the list for two reasons. First, I think it more likely to directly affect me than anything else previously listed. Second, if it did happen, it would be way more interesting (for "interesting", read adventure-provoking) than most things previously listed. At least, one thinks so. In reality, it may just mean I take several days off work and have to buy my groceries at a certain time of day. Everybody I know on the political left would probably be detained, so I wouldn't have anyone to drink with. I imagine it would be a period of prolonged boredom, similar to what one experiences when living in Ankara.

1. Earthquake
This is something I think about on a weekly basis. Istanbul sits along the North Anatolian fault line, and has been struck by devastating earthquakes 12 times since the 5th century. The 1,000 mile long, strike-slip fault, transfers pressure from west to east, moving the epicenters of earthquakes along the fault and steadily closer to Istanbul over the years. The last major disaster on the fault, in 1999, leveled the nearby town of İznik, killed nearly 20,000 people, and scared the dickens out of Istanbullu, many of whom spent the next several weeks camping out in the streets. With little (or no) preparation on the part of the Turkish government, this disaster, when it comes, will be one of Biblical proportions.

So, to my chagrin, last week there was a derailed coup attempt, a shooting at the US consulate, and a tanker collision with a public park. All I could do was read the newspapers, which proved better at being retarded (and misleading) than writing informative articles. I refer you to the Turkish Daily News' headline from Friday, Al-Qaeda Linked to Istiniye Attack. Al-Qaida was not merely not involved, but they ran a headline based on speculation... probably a police officer saying, "Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group, maybe they could have done this." I guess it sells papers.

Each of these events probably deserves it's own post... and I'll try to get around to that. With disaster befalling the city I love, I busied myself with a trip to Hattuşaş, the ancient Hittite capital. It made for a lovely weekend.