The New York Times published an article titled “The War in the Far East Transforms a Turkish Resort” about the arrival of tens of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians in Antalya following the Russia-Ukraine war.
More than 300 years have passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. With the start of the occupation, hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian citizens had to leave their countries and sought a place of refuge.
The long-established newspaper of the USA, The New York Times, published a news titled “Moscow in the Mediterranean: The War in the Far East Transforms a Turkish Resort” about Turkey’s role as a safe haven for war victims.
The New York Times (NYTimes) newspaper said about Antalya, where many Russians and Ukrainians already live, that “the Russian and Ukrainian population exceeded the Turkish population in the city.”
NYTimes included the statements of Kaan Devran Öztürk, who sells ice cream in Antalya. Öztürk said, “It’s like we woke up one morning and we don’t hear any Turkish words anymore. It’s all in Russian. Turks feel like foreigners in their own country.”
The newspaper stated that among those who escaped from Russia and Ukraine and took refuge in Turkey, there were deserters, those who were at odds with their government, those who were afraid of the economic difficulties in their country and who wanted to start a new life in a warmer, sunny climate.
Noting that the people of Antalya are used to the already resident Russians and Ukrainians, NYTimes stated that this year’s influx of Russians and Ukrainians has significantly increased their presence in the places where Russians and Ukrainians live.
NYTimes, “(Russians and Ukrainians) helped keep the economy afloat by bringing much-needed foreign currency to Turkey, but they also increased housing prices. Turks complain about rising housing prices. Turks will know how long their new neighbors will stay and a possible ‘social fabric breakdown’. is it?’ They were out of curiosity,” he said.
According to the news, the head of the real estate association in Antalya, İsmail Çağlar, said that the size of the influx this year has caused housing prices to triple, allowing Russian real estate brokers to charge exorbitant fees from property owners, especially Russians, and outrank their Turkish rivals.
Çağlar said, “Now they are visible because they have settled down. They wander on the beach with their children. They sit in a cafe with their children. They are everywhere. People think they are tourists and will return after the war. I don’t believe it because Antalya is really like a paradise. Look at the weather! It’s like this in Russia! where is the weather?” used the phrases.
Antalya Governor Ersin Yazıcı said that the number of foreigners in Antalya has exceeded 177 thousand in two years, of which 50 thousand are Russians and 18 thousand Ukrainians.
Stating that the number of houses sold to foreigners in Antalya is 19 thousand, NYTimes reported that it is the highest number in Turkey after Istanbul, whose population is five times more than Antalya’s population.
“Turkish authorities closed 10 neighborhoods in Antalya to new foreign residents to limit this density, which pushed them to other parts of the city,” the NYTimes reported.
He also included the statement of Vladimir Rusanen, the priest of the Saint Alypios Orthodox Church in Antalya’s Kaleiçi area.
Rusanen stated that he does not allow Russians and Ukrainians to harbor hatred towards each other within the church, saying, “We have families with people who died on both sides of this war. The church is a spiritual hospital where people are healed. It was not built to carry political discourses into the temple.”