Things were frantic before the election, said Erdal, as crowds of people nervous about the economy flocked to the bazaar to change their money into dollars. Overhead, another trader leaned around the tangle of electrical wires obscuring the bazaar’s painted stone arches to polish the metallic lettering above a shop. “Right now, it’s about 23.5 lira to the dollar, but there are firms trading it at 25-30 to the dollar as an investment in the future, and it’s making things worse,” said Erdal, leaning back on a torn leather office chair in a cloud of cigarette smoke as he waited for the gold market to open. As the currency traders arrived at the Grand Bazaar, the lira was trading even lower. The investment bank Goldman Sachs noted shortly after the election that the lira fell further and faster than they had anticipated, surpassing record lows of 20 to the dollar. The lira halved in value two years ago and inflation is officially at 39.59%, although unofficial estimates from Turkey’s Inflation Research Group put it at more than 100%.Įconomists from Bloomberg estimated last month that Turkish authorities had spent $177bn (£138bn) on supporting the lira since it plummeted in December 2021. The country is reeling from a profound economic crisis. In the three weeks since the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was re-elected to begin his third decade as leader, the value of the lira has tumbled, falling an estimated 16% against the dollar after the first round of the elections in mid-May, according to the Fitch ratings agency.

People are trying to sell, but they can’t so it’s getting tense,” mumbles a gold trader named Erdal as he passes by to observe the frantic crowd, before returning to the gold market in the next alleyway as it begins trading. “I’m ready to buy dollars at 2pm – anyone want to buy? 2pm anyone?” shouts a third trader.

“I’ll buy, but only this evening,” yells another. “Is anyone buying dollars?” yells a man in a Galatasaray sports jacket as he leans against the bazaar’s 500-year-old stone wall.

Lira betyder