The neighbourhood: Rüstem Paşa. Locals: Gülin Özalp. Shop: Pandeli. Photos: Deniz Sabuncu.Rüstem Paşa has represented the most colourful side of socio-economic life for thousands of years, with its open-air bazaar, shops, market, inns, mosques, square and historical Egyptian Bazaar. This is a lively, highly energetic, and crowded neighbourhood. As soon as I pass through Karaköy and enter the Galata Bridge, I find myself in the middle of the movement. I feel that I have arrived in the neighbourhood. The Spice Bazaar, where the heart of the trade beats, is in this neighbourhood, and right next to it, Eminönü, where I can supply the basic needs of the shop, the movement of the ferries docking one after another, the rush of pedestrians are the trademarks of here. As lively and crowded as it is during the day due to trade, it is just as deserted and quiet at night.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/5/1670569680219.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Gülin</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Thanks to the abundance of street flavours and artisan restaurants, one wanders among saporous smells. The Spice Bazaar, which was known as a spice centre in the Ottoman Empire, has lost its fundamental function with the opening of shops by different tradespeople; however, there are still places, like Malatya Bazaar, where we shop here and there. The food and beverage culture is as active as the city itself. Some disappear, but new ones come into their place right after. Of course, there are also things that remain rooted and unchanging, such as bazaars and mosques. Pandeli, whose home has been Rüstem Paşa for 122 years, is one of them.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/5/1670569786046.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Mr Pandeli's special aubergine döner börek</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">The story of Mr Pandeli</h2>Mr Pandeli, a Greek from Niğde. As soon as he came to Istanbul, he started working in various professions other than portering, which was his father's profession. He first started selling meatballs and&nbsp;piyaz&nbsp;(a Turkish food with kidney beans, onion, and olive oil) in a portable car on Mercan Slope, behind the Spice Bazaar. When his&nbsp;piyaz's&nbsp;became very popular, the neighbourhood pushed him to open his own meatball shop. In this modest place in Çukur Han, he continues his passion for his father's profession and serves meatball bread to the porters. At the period of the World War I, the Hamal Lokantası was gradually becoming a frequent place for intellectuals, journalists, poets, writers, and politicians. Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın, Orhan Seyfi Orhon, Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, and Ahmet Haşim from Turkey; Queen Elizabeth II, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Sofia, and Audrey Hepburn are just some from around the world who have tasted Pandeli.However, the effects of the war turned out severe, and Mr Pandeli had to return to Niğde. After the war, it reunites with its regulars in a 3-storey building at Yağcılar İskelesi in Eminönü. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is one of those regulars, too. When he was in Ankara, he used to miss Pandeli and sometimes when he would have guests in Ankara, the special orders he had made were delivered to him by train from Istanbul.This love and devotion, unfortunately, came to a stop again when the shop was looted during the Istanbul pogrom and Mr Pandeli gave up his profession. Later on, then-President Celal Bayar and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who heard the news from the newspaper headlines, persuaded Pandeli, and the upper floor at the entrance of the Spice Bazaar, where it is today, was allocated to Pandeli Restaurant by state order.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/5/1670569825957.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Spice Bazaar</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Our regulars: Spice Bazaar’s shopkeepers</h2>Rüstem Paşa does not have particular regulars. This place belongs to all of us. With those who come every day, regulars, nomads, and the indispensable. Since the neighbourhood is a commercial centre, its energy is very high and there are always tourists, but for shops like ours to be sustainable, the primary job is to satisfy the local guests before the tourists. A significant part of our Pandeli regulars are the tradespeople of the Spice Bazaar. Fishmongers, spice shops, greengrocers and butchers, where we run to when the shop runs out of something. Since we prepare everything on a daily basis, our supplies are limited, and when we run out of stocks, the tradespeople come to our help. It is valuable to support each other and share the same table. This place can make people feel at home, thanks to Aslı Hanıms and Ahmet Beys, who have been coming here for generations and who tell their grandchildren ‘My grandmother used to take me here’ while climbing the stairs of the shop.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/5/1670569898554.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Papers folded by the team each morning and sea bass in curlpaper with its special recipe</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">The paper for the sea bass in curlpaper still comes from Athens</h2>After Hristo Bey's death, his daughter Sofia Hanım decided to take over Pandeli, which she had doted upon from Greece and which she had inherited from her grandfather. As regulars who have been coming here for years, we were very sad and refused to believe it, when we learnt that the shop would close. When they offered us to take over the business, we did not know what to do. On the one hand, we were not willing to close it down. On the other hand, the idea of maintaining a place that we loved so much was such a heavy responsibility.It has always been crucial for Sofia Hanım for the shop to meet its regulars. With her support, we continue to run Pandeli, sticking as much as possible to the old tradition. Even during the menu-tasting process, we had Sofia Hanım’s hand on us. One of Pandeli's original tastes, the paper for Mr Pandeli's own recipe, Sea Bass in curlpaper, still comes from Athens today. The paper has a special way of folding. Hristo Bey taught this technique to Özay Bey, who has been devoted to Pandeli since he was 13. Now, Özay Bey and I fold papers every morning before work. It has become a ritual. Most of our colleagues working at Pandeli have been here since the early days. We didn't want to dispel the team or lose that authentic spirit. Now, we are a resilient team that grows together. There is something we have been repeating since the first day:&nbsp;‘This place is not ours, it belongs to all of us, to Istanbul.’<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/5/1670569957382.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Mr Pandeli's special recipe: Cherry Tirit</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">One of the important factors that make up the cuisine of Istanbul is the coexistence of different religious communities in the city. The food cultures of Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities have always been in mutual exchange with one another. Pandeli is a place that has not moved away from the historical peninsula where it was born and even earned a place in memories by identifying with the neighbourhood. Taking inspiration from Istanbul, there is an almost organic relationship between Istanbul and Pandeli.

Soli

Rüstem Paşa has been Pandeli’s home for 122 years.

Papers from Athens, food from shopkeepers, a star from Michelin

The eater: Journey. The regular: İpek Özbay.Last Tuesday, we sat down with <a fr-original-style="" href="https://instagram.com/ipekozbay?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">İpek Özbay</a>, co-founder of Paper Street Co., at <a fr-original-style="" href="https://instagram.com/journeycihangir?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Journey</a>, where she is a regular, had breakfast and then ordered a beetroot dark chocolate cake. While we were eating, we went over the issues on our minds. What does it take to become a regular? We learnt about İpek's Journey menu so now we know what to order next time.&nbsp;As you are reading, you will get to know Journey, one of the most intimate locations of Cihangir, through the eyes of its regulars.&nbsp;İpek, what does it mean to you to be a regular of a place? When do you say ‘OK, I'm a regular now’? How does that make you feel?I walk into Journey, Mr. Aras says ‘Oh, this is the first time I've seen you in red’ without even saying good morning first when I'm wearing red after a long time. Regularity reminds me of the feeling of drinking coffee with the same people every day at that one restaurant that is close to everybody’s summerhouses, which I didn't get to experience much when I was little; familiarity makes me feel safe.When I think of becoming a regular at a place, Patti Smith comes to my mind. When Cafe Ino in Greenwich Village, where she drinks coffee and eats toast with olive oil every day, closed she brought home her favorite chair and table in the cafe. Even though I am not at this stage, “regularity” is a concept I romanticise.How long have you been a regular at Journey and why here? What is this place famous for?Since 2018 when I moved to Cihangir, I guess I've been a regular. After travelling, I don't go back to the neighbourhood, I go back to Journey. I always go to Journey first in case I meet someone and get some news. For me, this place is famous for its attitude.Do you think this is a place for regulars in general? What kind of a relationship does it have with the neighbourhood and the locals?When I run into my friends who don't live in Cihangir at Journey, they say, ‘I knew I would see you here.’ Sometimes when I can't reach my close friend Danyal, I ask the people at Journey if Dani came in that day. When asked 'Where do you know each other from?' I must have some friends for which the answer is ‘Journey’. For many people from Cihangir, Journey is very inviting.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/4/1668083670904.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.67" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Inside of the Journey</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">How often do you visit Journey and for what reasons? Do you come here on a date or to work?The reasons have changed over the years, but mostly I go to work alone. After work, dinner turns into drinks and drinks turn into long conversations. When I first moved to Cihangir, I used to come here for dates, but nowadays I don't show myself at Journey for dates.What's on the menu? Is there something you always order here, something we can call the İpek special?My choices change a lot depending on my mood, but in general, I love their breakfasts, the vegan pizza and the beetroot dark chocolate cake are extra specials, and their daily dishes are sometimes surprisingly delicious.Why should we go to Journey and what should we order here?&nbsp;At Journey, you can order breakfast throughout the day, ideal for a late breakfast. Their eggs on toast, probiotic bowl and all kinds of toast are delicious.&nbsp;What do you always find and don't find here?The internet goes down from time to time in Journey, and the coffee in general does not satisfy me at all. But it makes you feel the familiarity no matter what.

Aposto Istanbul

This week, we are at Journey with İpek Özbay, co-founder of Paper Street Co. 

How to become a regular #3: Journey

<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663940153832.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">That smell...&nbsp;<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Only those who live here will know: The smell of simit in the morningNowhere else in Istanbul:&nbsp;Neighbours who like having fun togetherThe song: If I am allowed to adapt, I would like to try <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-aK6JnyFmk" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">California Dreamin’</a>The smell: Frame houses and coffeeThe tempo:&nbsp;Unhurried, productive, chattyNighttime: Humming from the balconies.&nbsp;Daytime: Sounds of walking.My latest discovery in the neighbourhood: Farmyard Co. where I buy honey, molasses, olives, and olive oil.

<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">For us, food has geography, not nationality</h2>We're invited to a house in Kurtuluş. "Shall we bring something?" we ask. "No," they say. We buy the food from Mezme - whatever is on the menu today will be whatever is left when we go. That day we have olive salad, topik, hummus, and dolma on the table. Another day at the same house, but now with muhammara, Georgian carrot, and topik again because we liked it so much. While traveling among the intertwined cultures of Kurtuluş, of course, we couldn't help but talk about the unifying state of food.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/3/1661937806120.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Mezme means "from us" in Armenian.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Because the name Mezme added an ‘m’ to ‘ezme’, we thought it would mean an appetizer in Armenian. This name also seems to refer to the neighborhood. Is it a coincidence that Mezme is from Tatavla?Well, that would be neat, but in fact, Mezme has nothing to do with either. Mezme means "from us" in Armenian. Of course, "from us" here does not only refer to appetizers belonging to the Armenian community or culture. It also reflects the culinary cultures of the Greek, Jewish, Levantine, Armenian, Turkish and Arab communities that have existed and partly still exist in old Istanbul and Antakya, sometimes diverging and sometimes converging.Therefore, as Mezme, we are trying to keep alive not just what we consume on our tables, but also a culture that was created by all the societies we have just mentioned. Tavla is one of the rare neighborhoods that has managed to carry its multicultural essence into the present. This work, which aims to revitalize this multicultural life, would of course be in Tatavla, where we were born and raised. For this reason, it is not a coincidence that Mezme is from Tatavla. It is crucial.In our common culture, why is food always talked about while eating?Meeting at a common table is a significant tradition. In our culture, tables with family or friends are very precious. It is where we unite. Considering the cultural richness of the geography, we may encounter more than one recipe for the same dish at a single table. It naturally encourages conversation about that dish.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/3/1661938100425.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.50" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Mezme types<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Only one in Mezme ‘Armchair’</h2>Mezme Koltuk is the space in front of Mezme. We named it after one of the tavern traditions, the "armchair tavern." The "armchair tavern" is one of the three main classes of tavern culture. Its definition is as follows: a little tavern located on the road in busy places, where one drinks on foot with a few appetizers.Contrary to popular belief, the custom in these taverns in the past was not to drink while sitting in large armchairs but to come here after sunset and drink standing up. The seat in question is not the one you sit on, but the one under your arm. The most significant feature of armchair taverns is that you cannot sit for hours. Instead, these are the taverns where one or two friends or individuals stop by after work and have a quick drink - in short, armchair taverns are frequented by those who want to relax before going home.

Bartu ÖzdenIn recent months, a regulation was amended to allow olive groves to open to mining for electricity generation. Afterward, olive trees were uprooted for a lignite mine project in the Akbelen Forest in Muğla, and the actions of the local people and environmental activists to stop the execution project caused a widespread outcry.I had a conversation with environmental engineer Deniz Gümüşel, a member of the İkizköy Environment Committee, which organized these protests, who has also detained during the resistance.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/5/5/1656067596490.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.79" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Main basis Olive Law</h2>Gümüşel says that the 1939 Law on Olive Groves is a "very robust" law that prohibits even the owners of olive trees from cutting them down. And this prevents the establishment of dust-generating facilities within three kilometers of olive groves. Thus it prevents mining operations in olive areas.On March 1, the Ministry of Energy amended its regulations to pave the way for the relocation of olive groves for energy-generating facilities, Gümüşel said, reminding us that laws are above regulations in the hierarchy. Shee states that they have filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Energy for this illegal regulation and stopped its execution.On the other hand, he says that YK Energy tried to uproot the olive groves and add them to lignite mine areas on March 31, which was prevented by actual actions, and that the company even had to replant the uprooted olive trees.Gümüşel says that the company has been trying to buy land from the villagers in this region due to the obstacles that the Olive Law poses to their activities. She also says that the İkizköy Environmental Committee has been talking to the villagers about not selling their land. Except for a few who have severed their ties with the village, the vast majority of villagers in İkizköy, Çamköy, and Karacahisar are in favor of not selling their land, according to Gümüşsel.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Promising developments</h2>Gümüşel said that a suit was filed against the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for the annulment of the decision allowing the allocation of Akbelen Forest for mining, as reported in the news last week. She described the expert report on the case as "promising."In the report, four experts have written in detail about the ecological problems caused by the allocation of Akbelen Forest to coal mining. In addition, these experts emphasized the damage it will cause to trees, water basins, biodiversity, olive cultivation, and the people who live from olive cultivation and also its contribution to the climate crisis.It is also stated that Akbelen Forest has become even more special for Muğla after the fire disaster caused by the climate crisis last summer. So they say that it is the only ecological corridor between the forests in the north and the south for wildlife to pass through and that the forest must be protected for the continuity of wildlife.In the report, two experts cited Turkey's need for energy production and argued that "the area should be allocated for coal mining even if it would cause ecological destruction." The İkizköy Environment Committee objected to this part of the report, arguing that "if there is ecological destruction, there can be no public interest."The court's request to the Muğla Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry for a breakdown of the olive groves in and around Akbelen Forest was a source of hope, considering the Law on Olive Groves. It is hopeful that the decision to allow this mine, which will not only directly destroy the olive groves, but also leave the surrounding olive groves in dust and without water, rendering them unable to produce, will be canceled. Gümüşel adds that olive farming in the region has already been losing yield for 40 years due to dust.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">"People are in a rush to protect their land"</h2>When I asked what kind of reactions they received from the community, Gümüşel replied that "İkizköy's struggle to defend its land has been going on for three years, that the tent vigil they started when they started to cut down the forest made the public aware of the issue at the highest level through the press, and that they have seen a great solidarity and that this solidarity continues."She said that İkizköy is now in contact with other ecological struggles and that they exchange support physically or through social media. She undirlined that in Turkey, people are fighting to protect their land, water, valleys, and forests in addition to economic, social, and political bottlenecks.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Proposal for an economy based on olives, not coal</h2>Gümüşel said that there has been a coal-based economy in the region for 40 years, and there are also people working at the power plant among the people of İkizköy, that some people's relations with politicians have been strained, and that they have been timid and have not objected loudly or taken the front line in protests. Despite this, she adds, no one has been able to come to say to "you are doing wrong" them.Gümüşel says that the unions made a statement, which was also reported in the press, that workers would be unemployed if coal operations were to stop, suggesting that the company is using the workers to save its profits and the union to save its union. He says that the İkizköy Environment Committee, which has the support of international environmental organizations, has prepared a "Future of Olive Groves" report with the work of expert academics instead of responding directly to this statement, and that it is seen that employment will be protected with olive groves that will develop even if coal activities stop.This study, which reports on investments that protect human health and do not reduce welfare, shows that with an annual incentive of 240 million liras given to thermal power plants, 70 olive farming enterprises that would create 700 new jobs could be established, that is, considering that 1200 people work at the power plants, it is possible to create jobs in much more humane conditions with two years of incentives.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Expectations from politics</h2>When I asked what kind of reactions they received from politics, she said that there are people with different political views in the İkizköy Environment Committee and the village community, but they think that the struggle for ecology and climate should be at the top of the agenda of all political parties, regardless of daily political debates. Gümüşel says that they invited all political parties to the site and opened a space for all of them to contribute, adding that in the first months of the vigil, the participation of politicians was intense and leaders also came to the site.Gümüşel thanked the MPs who followed them closely and supported them with parliamentary questions and speeches. And she says that they have two main expectations from politicians:First, she underlines the importance of MPs coming to the field when there is an actual situation. She says that this both informs large masses of people about their struggle and that it makes a difference to have MPs with them when they are bulwarking their bodies against law enforcement forces. So, MPs are expected to come to the field.Secondly, and more importantly, she says that coal should be out of Turkey's future and that they want the opposition parties to show their will and promise this in their programs. They demand politicians to come to İkizköy and talk to the workers who say they "don't want to get cancer" and see with their own eyes the harm of coal to human health. She states that coal phase-out has not been on the agenda of political parties so far and that only the DEVA Party has a program that envisages coal phase-out by 2040, which is too late.Finally, Gümüşel adds that they have never said "lock the doors of coal operations today" and that they want a gradual phase-out plan to be prepared, not exceeding 2030, taking into account Turkey's energy needs and security. She points out that the issue is not just İkizköy, that some coal enterprises have operating licenses until 2063, and that the future will be dark if the destructive dimensions of coal are not sufficiently understood by the public.

olive ile ilgili hikayeler