Neighboring Iran Warily Watches Turkey’s Attempted Coup

Source: time.com - Friday, July 15, 2016
As Istanbul and Ankara descended into chaos with an ongoing military coup in Turkey on Friday night, Izmir, the country’s third most populous city, was relatively calm. As news of the coup started spreading detachments of heavily armed police showed up at Izmir’s international airport, and while some flights still managed to take off, many were cancelled. On the streets of Izmir supporters of both sides were driving and honking their car horns. Coup supporters waved the red national flag of Turkey while supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waved his AKP party’s blue flag. In some squares small crowds had gathered and were shouting slogans, and occasionally heated arguments would arise between the supporters of the opposing camps. “Erdogan was crazy,—I’m happy he is gone!” a middle aged man shouted from his car. “The Army was right to take over.” Others disagreed, a young man shouting back at him. “I hate Erdogan, but he was democratically elected. Our democracy is more valuable.” Some mosques were broadcasting the Islamic call to prayers at 1:30 in the morning in an effort to get Erdogan’s supporters onto the streets. In the Izmir airport many of the passengers waiting to find out whether their flights would go ahead were tourists from neighboring Iran, and reports that Tehran had mobilized its air force only increased their anxiety. “We had spent a great week vacationing in Turkey, now I just want to get my family home,”

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