The first overseas trip of Rozier van Tonder, graphic designer at the civil rights organisation AfriForum, and his wife, Leandré, left them light-headed when they ended up amid the failed coup in Istanbul, Turkey over the weekend.

On 2 July the Van Tonders and their friends left for a vacation in Turkey and Romania. They planned this vacation for eight months.

According to Van Tonder they were a bit apprehensive to go ahead with the trip after the bombing at the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul on 28 July in which 36 people died and 147 were injured.

On their arrival at the airport there were still overt signs of the terror attack. “The airport was busy and a section was cordoned off. The shops were closed and some shop windows were cracked and riddled with bullet holes. Our tour guide said after the incident the tourist destinations were much quieter than usual. Although it seemed peaceful and people were coming and going as usual, there were armed security guards all over the airport and in the city,” said Van Tonder.

They left for Romania on 9 July and arrived at the Atatürk Airport again on 15 July. “At our return the damage of the explosion had been restored. On our arrival we headed for the Mansion by Cheers Hostel by means of public transport. This is in the Sultanahmet area near the Bosphorus Bridge. We had lunch and visited the Grand Bazaar with its more than 4 000 stores for the last time to buy Turkish lamps.

“After returning to the hostel we prepared supper. The owner of the hostel, Emre Güler, then told us that something was happening in the city; two Americans who were on their way, called to say that they were trapped on the bridge.

“We turned on the TV and heard that a group within the Turkish army has made an attempt to stage a coup.”

According to Van Tonder all of them then started to follow social media to find out what was happening. “Güler advised us not to go out again. Throughout the night we have heard many gunshots and gunfire while scores of low-flying planes kept flying over the city. We did not realise what really was happening.”

Van Tonder said they woke up the next morning from fans walking the streets with red flags and booming out their support to the Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan.

He said on Saturday morning, before they were taken to the airport by coach to return to South Africa, the streets were quiet. “The airport was extremely busy with supporters who handed out flags. We have been told that all flights were cancelled. We were supposed take an EgyptAir flight back and get a flyover in Egypt. After struggling and negotiating with the airline we finally were on a direct flight of Turkish Airlines to South Africa on Wednesday.”

Van Tonder said initially they were not scared. Not even after the bombing. “We only started feeling stressed when we heard shots and planes during the night. We are grateful to be back safely, though we are still waiting for our luggage that was left in Istanbul.”

At least 265 people were killed in the terrorist attack Friday night during which rebel soldiers used tanks, helicopters and warplanes in an attempt to overthrow Erdogan’s government. Erdogan’s Islamic ideology is long creating problems and conflict with the army, who attempted coups previously.

This article originally appeared in Forum Nuus
Written by Alet Rademeyer
Photos taken by Rozier van Tonder