On evening of 11 March after 6 pm decided to go for shopping and dinner to Kizilay, approaching the mall saw few people covering their noses and running. After getting off the taxi right in front of Kizilay discovered a riot police lined up and people running around. My first thought was - Wow, it's like real protests happening down here! I was too quick to be thrilled. So we started walking. At one corner a group of men gathered and started shouting at each other, one even hit the other with the camera. We entered into the mall only to feel strong smell of tear gas, went out. Tried to walk further and heard tear gas canisters being thrown around. Then crossed the road and walked towards the Hilton Hotel.
Some people seemed calm, some agitated. Tear gas canisters kept exploding. I forgot my best camera at the hotel and regretted it, I could have taken few shots, as everything was happening so close
Found some cafe and went in to have Coke, since they didn't serve any alcohol, I tweeted and O looked up the map to reach Hilton, since we decided against the shopping eventually.
Main moment - We stumbled upon one of the streets with hot activities (clash with police_) underway and tried to cross it. Nearby few teenagers started throwing stones at the police, and my first inclination was to run. I was conscious that being in the middle, we might either get hit by stone or attacked by police. I will never understand how we got on that damning street. We did run to cross the road, I don't think I felt scared though, just very conscious.
After crossing the street, and while still running I saw IT - just like in slow motion video: tear gas canister landed one meter away, it was smoking while in the air! We run faster. No way, what happened further was incredibly excruciating. I suddenly stopped breathing and covered my nose with the tissue, and to keep running I inhaled the air with my mouth, the air right in the middle of smoking cloud with the deadly substance. My entire mouth and throat were burning, no breathing, I felt suffocating and weak. All I knew is to keep running, until O pulled me into some brownish glass door, and immediately I felt my lungs on fire. What we run into, turned out to be small cafe (I wouldn't even know its name). Through my watering eyes I somehow saw free chairs and after sitting down pulled out an entire pack of tissues from the box on the table and started spitting and coughing. Pain may have lasted few seconds, but felt longer. My face was burning like after the sunburn, eyes watering. O went back to close the door behind us. When we first came in, I could see only two people at the very distant table, and somehow within the seconds after our appearance place was flocked by other people. Old guy came up and started speaking Turkish to us. O managed to squeeze out "English", and they shut up. Older lady tried to put some lemon on my eyes and then I was also handed vinegar tissue for my nose. We were advised to go down and hide in the basement, where small crowd gathered already. After a while everyone went back, so normal services resumed...
We had two small beers and one whiskey shot and then walked off leaving some tips for the help rendered.
Nothing reminded of the recent attack except very slight whiff. We were safe again.
Some people seemed calm, some agitated. Tear gas canisters kept exploding. I forgot my best camera at the hotel and regretted it, I could have taken few shots, as everything was happening so close
Found some cafe and went in to have Coke, since they didn't serve any alcohol, I tweeted and O looked up the map to reach Hilton, since we decided against the shopping eventually.
Main moment - We stumbled upon one of the streets with hot activities (clash with police_) underway and tried to cross it. Nearby few teenagers started throwing stones at the police, and my first inclination was to run. I was conscious that being in the middle, we might either get hit by stone or attacked by police. I will never understand how we got on that damning street. We did run to cross the road, I don't think I felt scared though, just very conscious.
After crossing the street, and while still running I saw IT - just like in slow motion video: tear gas canister landed one meter away, it was smoking while in the air! We run faster. No way, what happened further was incredibly excruciating. I suddenly stopped breathing and covered my nose with the tissue, and to keep running I inhaled the air with my mouth, the air right in the middle of smoking cloud with the deadly substance. My entire mouth and throat were burning, no breathing, I felt suffocating and weak. All I knew is to keep running, until O pulled me into some brownish glass door, and immediately I felt my lungs on fire. What we run into, turned out to be small cafe (I wouldn't even know its name). Through my watering eyes I somehow saw free chairs and after sitting down pulled out an entire pack of tissues from the box on the table and started spitting and coughing. Pain may have lasted few seconds, but felt longer. My face was burning like after the sunburn, eyes watering. O went back to close the door behind us. When we first came in, I could see only two people at the very distant table, and somehow within the seconds after our appearance place was flocked by other people. Old guy came up and started speaking Turkish to us. O managed to squeeze out "English", and they shut up. Older lady tried to put some lemon on my eyes and then I was also handed vinegar tissue for my nose. We were advised to go down and hide in the basement, where small crowd gathered already. After a while everyone went back, so normal services resumed...
We had two small beers and one whiskey shot and then walked off leaving some tips for the help rendered.
Nothing reminded of the recent attack except very slight whiff. We were safe again.
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