How Did Party City Istanbul Turn Into a Ghost Town?

I have been living in Istanbul for ten years. When i moved here from the extremely boring Turkish capital Ankara, the city was living its best times, i did not know it then. Things became worse every year.

There used to be great bars, clubs in the city centre for every taste. The festivals in the city were much more exciting at the time. There is a turning point actually, it's Rihanna. She was on the stage as the famous Gezi Park uprising started on May 31, 2013. I was reporting from the park, I remember, police attack, pepper gas, bullets… And the audience returning from the Rihanna concert.

Ten people were killed and thousands were injured after summer-long country-wide unrest.

Lady Gaga gave a concert a year after, so it seemed the city was still on the world tour lists. But the police attack on peaceful protests did not end. It got worse.

The city’s once tourist attraction hub Istiklal Street turned into a hub for refugees and I must say it frankly for drug dealers. One by one chains took down the shutters and moved from the city centre. See the transition of the city’s most visited street with photos from here. 

I worked for a cultural festivals organization between 2015 and 16. I witnessed firsthand how bumpy Turkish politics affected the city’s culture and social life. I was at a concert as July 15 coup attempt started. Jets were flying low over the audience, everyone was looking at their phones to see how tanks closed the Bosphorus Bridge.

Concerts were immediately cancelled that summer.

Istanbul used to be a party city once, now it’s a ghostown. The piece from MEE tells it clearly.