Ankara's historic Ulus bazaar 'survives thanks to refugees'

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Yıldırım Süslü, a shopkeeper at Ankara's historic Ulus bazaar (Ulus Hali) for 45 years, says their business, which has already been affected by shopping malls and grocery chains, has become even worse after the bans imposed due to the pandemic.

The historic marketplace, which was established in the first years of the Republic, has been negatively affected by the relocation of public buildings from Ulus and the closure of many shops and venues during the pandemic.

Süslü, 55, says he has been selling fruits and vegetables in the bazaar since the age of 10.

"In terms of shopping, we miss the crowd from 25, 30 years ago. It was busier at the time. It was very busy when shopping malls and large grocery stores didn't exist.

"It was Ankara's shopping center. There was a five to six times larger crowd than this. We have been negatively affected by these two situations.

"Because our guests from Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan reside around this area, they make up for the lack of shopping."

There have been no coronavirus cases among shopkeepers and their employees despite the crowd, he says: "We have been coming here with our employees since the virus emerged. Nothing has happened to any of us.

"The two-day weekend ban took away the days that we did the most work. Although it is a bit busier on Fridays, it doesn't make up for two days.

"Our citizens shouldn't shop from grocery stores but from bazaars where there are fresh products, they can't do it because they have no money. They shop by credit cards and meet their needs by becoming indebted."

"Seven mayors were changed, the bazaar didn't"

Sefer Yurttaş has been selling fish at the bazaar since 1970. The city has seen seven mayors in 51 years but no one did any work on the bazaar, he says.

"Ulus Bazaar has always been left to its own fate. Everybody made projects but no one touched the bazaar. We only see there is some cleaning these days because of coronavirus.

"The metropolitan municipality and the district municipality can't agree and whatever happens, happens to shopkeepers here. Altındağ [district] Municipality is responsible for cleaning here but it doesn't do anything. We do it with the cleaners we hire.

"Citizens who come with their private vehicles from outside can't find a place to park their vehicles. The administrators have not found a solution to this problem.

"Curfews should be rearranged. Bars, cafes, restaurants and wedding halls are closed. Their closure naturally affects our business. We sell the cheapest fruits and vegetables in recent years but citizens have no money.

"The purchasing power of citizens has decreased. Everything is by credit card. We cannot do business when we return. The hike to the minimum wage has melted away in the first two months. We are in a country where seven million people work with minimum wage. How can the purchasing power be high? We often negotiate for two lira with the customer." (FD/SO/VK)