Human geography

Turkey on June 11 criticized the U.S. Department of State's 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom as "written in a language far from objectivity."

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement that the report's contents on Turkey included "claims without sources."

The historical Grand Bazaar opened its doors to visitors on June 1 as part of the country's normalization phase, having longed for its old crowded and busy days since being shuttered on March 24.

A driver of a tanker truck died on Wednesday after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into a concrete divider on the Thessaloniki-Athens highway near Pieria in northern Greece.

Greece has no say over what happens to Istanbul's Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said, while accusing Athens of undermining the religious freedoms of its Muslim community.

"We have slowed down economically over nearly three months [amid the pandemic] but with God's help and the people's unity we will move forward and our economy will rise again," Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya said at the ceremony, Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkey reopened restaurants, cafes and Istanbul's iconic 15th century Grand Bazaar market on June 1 as the government further eased coronavirus restrictions.

Many other facilities including parks, beaches, libraries and museums reopened across the country, while millions of public sector employees returned to work.

Greece lifted lockdown restrictions Monday for hotels, open-air cinemas, golf courses and public swimming pools as the country ramped up preparations for the crucial summer tourism season to start in two weeks. Primary school children also returned to class.

An eerie silence has fallen over Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, one of the world's oldest, largest and most visited markets, where a raucous mixture of languages, cultures and commerce has buzzed for centuries.

Opposition-run municipalities led by Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu are finding creative ways to get round the President's attempt to stop them from collecting donations for those hardest hit by the crisis.

A quarrel broke out in central Thessaloniki in the early hours of Saturday when a motorist tried to drive through a crowd gathered outside a bar drinking to-go beverages and ignoring social distancing rules.