1) You might have thought it would never happen, but here it is: Istanbul Airport
We knew they were building it. We knew they planned to build the biggest of them all. Many even thought they would cancel the project. There were several rumours about it (good and bad), but what concerned most Istanbulites was the location. It is simply too far away. Especially when one compares it with the convenient location of Atatürk Airport. After the official opening ceremony in October 2018, when just a few flights were transferred to the new airport, the big opening was postponed to December 2018. And then again postponed to March 2019… and then to April 2019. And on that day it finally happened.
2)The elections may have gone longer than anyone expected, but we finally got a new mayor.
Who would have guessed that a tiny difference, that is about 20,000 votes, could become the hottest topic in Istanbul for about three months? (As an interesting fact, the difference almost equaled one vote per polling location in Istanbul.) Well, this is exactly what happened in 2019. After a small difference between the first and second candidate for the mayor of Istanbul in the nationwide March local elections, it was ruled to be repeated (only in Istanbul) on June 23rd. This time, the winner was the same, Ekrem Imamoğlu, but the difference much bigger: 800.000 votes, that is 26 votes per polling location more compared to the previous occasion.
3) Izmir takes over: From lokma balls to Izmir bombs
On the gastronomical “battlefield”, Izmir seems to be the total winner of 2019! Istanbulites (or at least their taste buds) have gone crazy for lokmas. What is lokma? A pastry made of leavened and deep-fried dough which is then soaked in sweet syrup. And if you don’t find it sweet enough, you can pour on some chocolate. How many lokma shops were opened in your neighbourhood?
And if this wasn’t sweet enough, Izmir sent us another sugar bomb, called Izmir Bombası. This is basically a very simple sweet pastry filled with A LOT of chocolate. I have to admit that I tried it only once… and could not finish it.
But, I am so sorry Izmir to say that, towards the end of the year, our sweet tooth preferred Sebastian. San Sebastian Cheesecake to be more precise. In the most famous places, you have to wait in a line to indulge in this latest obsession of Istanbulites. Which is your favourite place? Mine (so far) is Meet Lab Coffee at Caddebostan.
And what do you think would be the dessert in 2020? My guess are churros con chocolate.
4) Plastic bags are not for free anymore… or are they?
I have been living in Istanbul for 6 years… and during all these years I was the awkward foreigner who goes grocery shopping with their backpack and textile bags. Saying “no” to a plastic bag was regarded as something weird, almost a kind of sin. I mean, why would you say no to something that is offered to you for free? And not only that it was for free, but you could also use it as a (free) trashbag later. Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it?
But January 1st 2019 was the day on which we, all us awkward bag-bringers, went from zero to hero. 2019 was the year when grocery shopping with your old (reusable) textile bag finally became socially accepted in Turkey. Though, I have to say that some interesting alternatives were seen on TV, especially in January – for example shopping with a wheelbarrow.
What comes next? Maybe finally a ban on plastic straws for all the adults?
5) The miracle of the metro
Even though none of the Istanbul airports have a metro connection at the moment, and the Beşiktaş metro is still under construction, 2019 brought some good news regarding public transportation. Istanbul finally has a metro that operates 24 hours! Hurray!
(P.S.: only on Fridays and Saturdays)
6) The earthquake returns
I have left one of the not so pleasant topics for the end. The earthquake. Two earthquakes shook Istanbul in September, and especially the second one got us all worried: is THE big earthquake approaching? And is Istanbul ready? Are we ready?
This piece was originally published on author’s blog.
