Istanbul mulls over fate of iconic fish vendors

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Istanbul’s number one spot for traditional street food, fish sandwich, is facing removal after the city municipality decided to revamp the historic square.

Tasty 15-Turkish-lira ($2.6) "balik ekmek" has been a popular street food tradition for decades both for locals and tourists in Istanbul's historic Eminonu district.

A total of three fishing boats are operating on the shore of Golden Horn since 2007 when a ruling reduced the number from 12 following a regulation.

On a crowded afternoon, one of the fish vendors, Ertac Yilmaz, told Anadolu Agency the judicial process was still ongoing.

Istanbul Municipality has sent an eviction order for the fishing vendors on Nov. 1, said Yilmaz, one of around 150 vendors working at 8 a.m.-10 p.m. (0500-1900GMT) on the boats.

Although a fish vendors' cooperative is fighting against the eviction, the district governorship is expected to make the final decision, he added.

"This place will be closed [one day], although there is no exact date -- today, tomorrow, or maybe in one or two months," he said.

Working for the last two decades as a fish vendor, Yilmaz fears of being unemployed if the place is shut down.

"I will not be able to pay back my debts, or my rent," he added.

According to Yilmaz, the fish vendors' cooperative and the municipality are in contact.

"Of course this gives us some hope, and if God permits it will not be closed down," he added.

"As the process is still underway, it is better to provide information after we make some progress," said a representative of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s press office, not providing further detail on the issue.

Next to the fishing stalls, a 67-year-old Australian passerby Bernard Harries said he got off the ferry and noticed "these beautiful boats which look like vintage boats".

"We thought we might come here to have tea and a fish sandwich.

"They fit in beautifully with the environment, and this is such a lovely port," Harries added.

A 55-year-old local tourist and retired teacher Kerem Dogan, who just had a fish sandwich, told Anadolu Agency that he drove to Eminonu for around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Turkey’s northwestern province of Izmit, to show his support for the fishing vendors after hearing the eviction order on TV.

"I was very upset," Dogan said, adding: "I came here to support them, but didn't like their attitude".

Due to their limited seating area, fishing vendors on the boats treat customers rudely if they don’t eat and leave quickly, according to Dogan.

"A metropolis such as Istanbul does not deserve this," nor the staff treating customers in this way, he added.

But vendor Yilmaz, pointing at the crowd in the fish sandwich line, said: "People come here because there is something they really like. No one would come here if it wasn't this good".

This August, a family of five was reportedly attacked by one of the fishing boat's crew, injuring one person, resulting in 21 stitches on his head, according to local media. This event caused an uproar leading to a social media campaign for the removal of fishing boats in the historic area.

Yilmaz wants improvement for the fishing boats' standards. "While revamping the area, they could also provide us with a share," he said referring to the municipality.

They could ask for a specific size of our boats or the work space, but we expect them to provide us with the conditions and the opportunity to work, he added, emphasizing that they want to continue with the decades-long iconic street food tradition of "balik ekmek" in the historic district of Istanbul.