Conversations in Istanbul in the Wake of Charlie Hebdo
The temperature was a bracing 23 degrees F with high winds, but business was as usual in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. Seated in an alley outside the Varol Çay Ocagi, a tea kitchen, I talked with Sefa Ulusan, one of the men who serve çay to the merchants and their customers on the north end of the maze of shops. Snowflakes fell on my face and shoulders as we spoke. What surprised me most about Istanbul in January was that despite the bitter cold and sleet, all the restaurants and shops that I was accustomed to seeing with their street-facing walls opened wide in spring, summer and fall, never shut their doors. Instead, waiters and store clerks as well as the diners simply added layers of clothing. Perhaps they did this out of necessity (lack of space inside) and because of their socially convivial nature.
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