A house-bound İzmirian diary: Post-corona life continues on in balconies and online

From sumptuous terraces overlooking the Kordon, İzmir's waterfront, to dingy half-closed decks that one could barely fit a raki table, balconies have always been part of life for Izmirians. This local obsession has often the butt of jokes for the rest of the country.  "No man without a paunch, no home without a porch," goes the popular saying, implying that a potbelly in a man and a balcony in a house are signs of wealth and status.

But in the post-corona world, balconies have become the only safe public space for many of the city's residents, who are reluctantly and awkwardly practicing social distancing. Mornings at Alsancak, Izmir's chic downtown, start with waving hands among neighbors who take their morning coffee at their balcony or water flowers. Domestic drama, such as arguments between couples suffering from cabin fever due to full-time cohabitation, take place in full view of neighbors. At nine o'clock every evening, people come out on their balconies to applaud the health workers who are working under tough conditions.

As rumors of Izmir - along with Istanbul - being one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced earlier this week, many of the residents have taken off to their summer houses in Cesme and  Alaçati, twin seaside resorts 70 kilometers of Izmir. "At least I have a garden there so I can sit outdoors and get clean air. There are less people and less risk," said Simin, quinquagenarian who has retired two years ago from the health sector.

Neither is true anymore. A customs officer at Cesme's Ulusoy port, where ro-ro boats from Italy's Trieste land, tested positive for coronavirus, announced Cesme Mayor Ekrem Oran. Some 45 families who have been in contact with him were placed under quarantine and four people, who...