In the historical Uzun Çarşı ("Long Bazaar") in Türkiye's southern province of Hatay, where many shops were destroyed or damaged in the earthquakes on Feb. 6, 2023, tradespeople whose businesses survived or completed renovations are welcoming high sales as Eid al-Fitr, also known as Ramadan Bayram, approaches.
In the marketplace, where approximately 400 shopkeepers open their shutters, the intensity before Eid is a sign of life returning to normal.
Citizens who come to the bazaar, where various products and services, from clothing to food, local flavors to traditional handicrafts, are available, are shopping to complete their Eid preparations.
Mehmet Hançer Gündüz, president of the bazaar's Solidarity and Beautification Association, told an Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent that there were more customers than expected in the bazaar this holiday.
Explaining that there is holiday activity in every business in the bazaar, Gündüz said: "When we see the intensity in our bazaar, it opens our hearts. We believe it will be much better in the future; we are very happy."
"Last year, we could not enjoy our Eid al-Fitr due to the earthquake, but this year, we had an excellent Ramadan, and I hope we will have a good Eid al-Fitr. I hope we will return to our old days again," he said.
Ahmet Kızıldağ, a barber whose business was damaged in the earthquake and reopened about eight months ago after the repair work, expressed that they were pleased with the intensity.
He explained that he had difficulty keeping up with his customers, but pointed out: "We are having a much better Ramadan than last year. We are delighted to see the intensity."
Ali Sunar, who sells clothes in the historical bazaar, stated that they are trying to recover after the earthquakes.
Stating that they miss the intensity in the bazaar, Sunar said: "This year has been an abundant Ramadan. The people of (southern province of) Antakya are slowly returning. We are also happy as bazaar shopkeepers, hopefully, better days are waiting for us."
Hakan Can, who sells local products and spices, noted that the bazaar is improving daily.
On Feb. 6, 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes struck numerous Turkish provinces, including Hatay, in particular, claiming over 50,000 lives. The quakes affected around 14 million people in Türkiye and many thousands of others in northern Syria.
