In a jewellery shop close to Istanbul’s Taksim Square, Seda unzips an elegant black leather pouch and piles her gold jewellery on the counter to discuss selling it all. The shop owner gently places gold chains, rings and a pendant on a small scale, before immediately calling a trader to discuss the latest rates.
“I used to look at the price of gold once a week. Now I look roughly 50 times a day,” says the owner, who asks that his name is withheld. He advises Seda to wait – perhaps the price will stabilise.
Turkish citizens like Seda, who declines to give her surname, are frantically trying to find ways to cope as the lira continues a downward slide. The currency lost half its value against the dollar this year, falling almost 30% in November alone. Those without foreign currency or gold to sell are finding other ways to cut down, avoiding buying meat or turning to government-subsidised bread stands for sustenance.
Read more at:
‘There’s jobs but no money’: Turkey’s economic crisis begins to bite | Turkey | The Guardian
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