First I am happy to say that Tigerman and his mate are both safe and well in Istanbul after what was to put it mildly, an unsettling situation. It started after receiving a late evening phone advising us to switch on the news. To our shock, on doing so we found an attempted coup ongoing with tanks at the airports, bridges, main square in Taksim, Istanbul, and around the Parliament Building in Ankara. During the hours that followed, we heard several large explosions with a fighter jet flying so low it blew out the windows of apartments under its flight path. Fortunately, all now seems calm and peaceful, although there are still some sporadic gunfire heard in some places in both Istanbul and Ankara. All being well this situation of unrest will not further damage relations between the various parties in Turkey.
As an Englishman living in Turkey for many years and now married to a Turkish lady, I wish only for peace in Turkey. My wife and I extend our sincere condolences to all the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and the hundreds of injured people.
