The city of Diyarbak?r had dreams, once

Cities, I believe, also have dreams like humans. In numerous travels to Edirne from the most western part of the country, to the southeastern cities Gaziantep, Mardin and Diyarbak?r, I have come across these dreams. 

Diyarbak?r, which has been the venue of armed clashes since July, where a war climate reigns, is at the top of cities whose dreams have been shattered like glass castles. 

The Diyarbak?r Business Council, made up of 22 institutions including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Diyarbak?r Trade Bourse and its Chamber of Merchants and Craftsmen, has recently presented a report to Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek and Development Minister Cevdet Y?lmaz in Ankara.   

What would a business report mean, you might ask, in an environment where innocent children are dying one by one, where daily life has halted because of curfews, where 300,000 people had to leave their homes in three months?  

In fact, as a writer friend from Diyarbak?r told me, the effort of the Diyarbak?r Business Council is to pour a cup of water on the region's fire.

The report said in the Sur district of the city, more than 360 businesses have closed down, commercial activities have almost come to a full stop and the already high unemployment has peaked. 

The tourism sector, which had big expectations last July after Diyarbak?r's ancient city walls and Hevsel Gardens were listed on UNESCO's World Culture Heritage List, has also halted. 

Including the five-star hotels in Diyarbak?r, more than 20 hotels in the Sur district have closed. The report said the occupancy rates of these hotels during the resolution process were 80 percent to 85 percent; this figure now is zero. 

I remember well what kind of an accommodation...