"Armenia-Turkey Border Issue: Open Sesame Open
By Ece Temelkuran, YEREVAN (Milliyet)
“I pray to Jesus every morning for the opening of the borders!”
Anait has a spontaneously smiling face. She is a strong woman, but her voice is quite soft. In a clothing bazaar, she prefers Turkish while speaking among the clothes she brought from Laleli (Istanbul) to sell.
The surprise during the first trip
“We are alone now. It will be good for both for you and us when the border is opened. Trade with Turkey is vital for our economy. When they say ‘the border remains closed’, it gives us big pain.
Anait is one of the oldest merchants. She had started visiting Turkey in 1993. Firstly she was bringing automobile components to Turkey. She reached to Georgia via bus and then to Ardahan from there. She never forgets her first trip:
“I was afraid. I didn’t know how the Turks were. Would they attack me? The bus got out of order in Ardahan. All the passengers were women. A Turk came and gave water melon and cheese to everyone. He also got the bus repaired and demanded no money. He said “sell your goods and then you may pay”. “Now, 90 per cent of the goods in Armenia are coming from Turkey.” "
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