His two lounge chairs in worn upholstery on the pavement and the pedestal table cluttered with cups of coffee have become the symbol of the resistance of a city, Antakya, which does not want to die.
A month after the deadly earthquake of February 6 which devastated it without leaving a single one of its streets intact and emptied it of its inhabitants, ancient Antioch, in southern Turkey, finds a glimmer of hope in Serkan Sincan, the antique dealer on Kurtulus Street, which warms hearts with strong coffees and Pink Floyd hits.
“I came back three days after (the earthquake). Everyone I met told me, the Great Mosque is down, the rue du Palais is down, the Protestant church, the governor’s palace… Serkan abi, my brother, your shop is finished… I too felt like I was sinking”, says the antique dealer of “Nostaljik Dükkan” (Nostalgia shop), listing the iconic sites of the old town.
“But the house was still standing and I said to myself: Allah is great!” Turkish flag hanging from the facade.
The 51-year-old antique dealer then takes up residence above the shop, in this old residence more than a hundred years old which was the property of a Christian family from Antioch, which remained intact when everything collapsed around.
“Usually I live in a normal apartment”, he specifies, red cap screwed on the blue glance.
The city is completely plunged into darkness and the neighborhood deserted. Half reassured the first evening, he lights a fire which quickly attracts the volunteers, the soldiers and policemen on patrol as well as the rare walkers who come with pain to contemplate the disaster: the beautiful houses of crumbling blond stone, the tables of the restaurants chic still erected under the collapsed beams, their familiar café…
Even lost cats who sneak through the chaos of the ruins quickly find their way to Nostaljik Dükkan – where a plate of kibble always awaits them.
Miraculously, the shambles of the shop, dispersed between its small salons and drowned in dust, resisted the angry movements of the earth. The small tables are covered with trinkets, porcelain, vases and silver trays, the walls with allegorical tapestries and orientalist crusts.
“Music, I started last week when the telecom workers plugged me into their installation” specifies Serkan Sincan who alternates between opera, rock and Turkish variety hours.
He also acts as a muezzin, with a bare voice, the religious having deserted – “they had the jitters” he laughs.
Antioch, Antakya, Hatay: the city located a stone’s throw from Syria, a French time under the mandate (1920-1939), has always mixed Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs, Armenians… a symbol of cultural diversity and religious, melting pot of communities dear to the hearts of its inhabitants.
“Hatay, I make it a personal matter” would have hammered Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, demanding during the negotiations on the drawing of the borders of modern Turkey that Antakya be attributed to him – despite the Syrian protest.
“For us, everyone is on the same level”, insists Serkan Sincan who venerates the father of the nation. Even if the multiple earthquakes suffered through the centuries and the vicissitudes of time – such as the proximity of the Syrian conflict – have undermined this beautiful idea.
For the time being, he clings to it and his square of sidewalk has become the only place of socialization in the injured city.
“I used to come here, the day before the earthquake I had bought a children’s book there… When I saw that the shop was still standing, I regained hope for the first time “, says Özgel Eser, a 36-year-old teacher.
A volunteer from the city of Konya (center-west) stops to drop off sweets from his city; a group of friends from Besiktas, a popular district of Istanbul, who have come to work as volunteers meet there every evening. A pick-up from Izmir drops off hot meals for the whole company.
Serkan Sincan expects the authorities to ask him to evacuate the Nostaljik Dükkan when the renovation work begins – and, before that, the clearing.
“I’m looking for a new, bigger place: we were six antique dealers in Antakya, I’m the last one, the others were destroyed. I suggested that they create a common fund”.
At nightfall, Serkan Sincan gets up and, his hands in the mouth, begins the adhan, the call to prayer, walking down Kurtulus Street, which has become dark.
08/03/2023 11:20:13 — Antakya (Turquie) (AFP) © 2023 AFP
