DDi - July 2013 - (Page 8)

8 | From the Editor Of tea and tear gas I n the last few days of May, a city known for its historic beauty and grandiose Byzantine architecture suddenly found itself in a riotous feud while the entire world watched. The area of Taksim Square in Istanbul, where I had casually meandered not two days earlier, became flooded with rioters young and old. What began as a protest of the demolition of a public park, quickly erupted into a countrywide anti-government riot led by tens of thousands of Turkish patriots. I was staying at a hotel several miles north of the action, attending the World Department Store Forum (see page 44 of this issue for more on that). On the final day of the event, we were alerted that the scheduled retail tour would have to be shortened, because “an incident” in the city was causing severe traffic delays. The incident, I soon discovered, was thousands of protestors gathering in Taksim Square, petitioning the leveling of Gezi Park in order to replace it with a replica Ottoman-era military barracks facility and—ahem—a shopping mall. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best time to announce that I was in the city because I write for a RETAIL magazine covering a RETAIL conference. When locals asked, I said I was the editor of an architecture magazine. Same difference, right? A day later, I opted to venture out of the hotel to see some of the sights, and found myself in a taxi cab heading south on some of the side streets along the Taksim corridor. What I saw was a mixed bag of visuals that will stay with me for quite some time. A group of about 15 boys, ages 5 to 10, jumping up and down on a cobblestone street and waving their Turkish flags while chanting at the top of their lungs, as an older mother (or grandmother?) egged on the cheers by banging a white plastic bucket with what looked like a weathered baseball bat. I saw young men and women in their early- to late-20s grouped in packs of three to 10 people, all wearing casual T-shirts, tank tops, jeans— and gas masks. The more I saw people wearing them, the more I realized my eyes and nostrils were suddenly burning—and I too had to cover my face with my scarf, as the cab driver rolled up the windows and turned on the air conditioning, motioning to me with his eyes that the tear gas was still strong in this area. | July 2013 In the Sultanahmet area, I walked through the Blue Mosque, Ayasofya, Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace, thinking about the calming influence they all seemed to emit, while such turmoil was happening only a few miles away. I wandered in to an enticing carpet shop with exquisitely colorful ceramic platters and bowls lining the walls from floor to ceiling. It smelled of dust (there were vintage rugs hanging in the back), incense and chocolate. The owner’s brother and I had a lovely conversation about how he had turned away a German art dealer earlier in the day who was looking to smuggle some 13th-century carpets back to Europe. (It is illegal in Turkey to take national historic treasures out of the country, and he explained that his family is in the business of “treasure hunting.”) We talked about retail, and his family’s philosophy that operating a store was not about selling—but about “sharing what you have and know with others who can appreciate it as much as you.” He offered me tea from a vintage, intricately patterned silver decanter that must have been at least a century old. I politely declined, as the sun was beginning to set and I needed to head back to my hotel. The 20-minute exchange was one of the highlights of my trip. The Turkish government has since halted work on the shopping mall and reconstruction project that began the Istanbul riots. The demonstrations have subsided—for now. But, the city buzzes with retail excellence. Perhaps next time I’ll take that cup of tea, and talk shop with the carpet store owner’s brother for a few more minutes. We might learn a lot. Alison Embrey Medina Executive Editor alison.medina@ddionline.com www.ddionline.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - July 2013

DDi - July 2013
Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Editor’s Choice
Visual Perspectives
Design Snapshot
Karl Lagerfeld
Walgreens
Fred Perry
World Department Store Forum
Fixture Leaders Listing
Company Index
Right Light
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Shopping with Paco

DDi - July 2013