Burası Turkiye #2

This is Turkey.
This is Turkey in times of Covid-19
This is the scene at the electric company office today where Graham and I stood waiting for nearly two hours. Masks are mandatory, and only customers being served are allowed inside the cool building in these Corona days. Consequently many folk are hanging around outside, like us in broiling heat. We were there because of an issue with the caretaker's electric bill (Graham and I are volunteer management board for the complex). Frankly, I am amazed at the overall good natured attitude of those folk waiting,  especially as some were clearly too old and/or infirm to have to wait in such conditions.  I understand the need for social distancing of course, but they couldn't provide a few chairs outside in the shade?

This occupied our afternoon (four hours in all after visiting other offices before the electric company) after leisurely brunch with Mark and Viv at My Bar.  Have to say that once our mission was accomplished, Graham and I went straight back to My Bar for consolation beverages, which turned into a longer than originally intended session as Sami arrived and we needed to share our tale of woe.

Old fashioned busy work bureauracy here drives me nuts and it's even worse in these corona virus days. After waiting outside for so uncomfortably long, I had to negotiate in Turkish with the assistant from a socially acceptable distance with both of us masked up, hot and tired. I must have signed two dozen papers as part of the process of resolving the issue.  I am reminded of Dickens' "circumlocution office" in 'Little Dorrit' which I believe is, 180 years later, still the preferred model for most Turkish banks/utilities offices.

Burası Turkiye. This is Turkey.