Behind her red simit stall at the ferry port of Kadıköy, 44-year-old Aleyna sells the typical sesame curls every day. As the only woman in this position, she had to stand up to hostility and harassment from men. Meanwhile, she has been working here for 16 years, she knows the people and their stories. She helps where she can and gives some of her simit to hungry people.
Every morning from 6:30 a.m. on Aleyna stands behind her little red stall like thousands of others in Istanbul. For 16 years now, together with her husband, she has been running a simit stall at the ferry port of Kadiköy. "I am a professional!" she says.
The crispy sesame curls are stacked on the display, chocolate croissants lie next to Poğaça and sandwiches, which she prepares freshly every day. She has not had the latter on offer for long, but has had to expand it to include extra pastries because of the ongoing inflation - she earns more with the sandwiches than with the mere sale of simits. However, the financial loss is also greater if too much is left over. She buys the baked goods from a large municipal bakery to which she is assigned. The purchase price of a simit is now 3 Lira. Aleyna takes 5 TL per cringle. As recently as March this year, the street price was 2.5 TL. Simits are breakfast, snack and appetizer. Affordable for everyone, it can be enjoyed with çay or spread with peynir or Nutella by your favourite simitçi. With the doubling of the price, it is now a luxury for many. Students who used to have a simit in their breadbox every morning now only see it for Sunday family breakfasts. An everyday product has become a luxury. And we are talking about bread here.
It takes Aleyna about an hour to walk from her home in Kayışdağı to the simit stall in Kadiköy. She used to live nearby, but when the old landlord terminated her lease in order to be able to increase the rent, she was forced to move. While Aleyna and her husband used to pay 2500 Lira per month, the same apartment now costs between 8000 and 10000 Lira. The couple cannot afford a rent like this. But now they also have to pay 4000 Lira for their new apartment. [To put this into perspective, the Turkish minimum wage is just 5500 TL.]
Many people are suffering from high inflation. Aleyna wants to help and gives away some of her simits to those in need. She says that theft has also increased: out of hunger people have to steal. But the real robbery, she says, is actually the doubling of prices. She tells the story of a 60-year-old disabled woman who suffers from mobility problems and has difficulty walking. She has to stand in an open-plan kitchen and wash dishes every day because she depends on the money. "Rich people don't want to help poorer people, even though they have enough. This is a social problem!"
Until 23:00, Aleyna is an integral part of the hustle and bustle at the ferry port. While ships leave, buses spit out and pick up passengers, people rush by, tourists search for the right landing place and elderly gentlemen take a break with çay and newspapers, Aleyna is always there. Someone brings her sweet Nescafé, she has her regular customers and feels comfortable here so far. But it wasn't always like this. She says that as a woman working alone, she had to endure the oppression and humiliation of men and fight against it:
"Only when they realised that I was strong and tough, that I wouldn't let them get me down, they accepted me at some point. I wasn't like that before. The circumstances here forced me to become tough. I had to learn to ignore their insults and not give them any leverage over me." she says.
When Aleyna came to Istanbul from Tokat in the Black Sea region at the age of 21, she first started working at the state railway company (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları (TCDD)) and then worked in the marketing department of a confectionery company for a while. It was only when she became a Simitçi that she decided to wear a headscarf, although she does not describe herself as a particularly devout believer. The headscarf at least gives her a bit of peace from the male shop assistants and their moral oppression and condemnation of her, she says. As a woman she does not feel that she can participate in society on an equal footing. Then she points to the Bosporus: at least the view of the glittering blue gives her the energy she needs every day.
Music and the guests she likes to see at her home also give her strength and cheerfulness. Freedom means to her that she can do everything she wants without being limited by anyone. Aleyna would like to have her own house, which would at least protect her from rent increases. If she could give the world something, it would be peace. Because wars always bring death, loss and suffering, and lead to even more conflicts and crises. "Humanity is dangerous and wonderful at the same time," she says.