Have you ever thought of vacationing on a cruise ship? Most of India's population can dream of spending holidays on a luxury cruise ship, but cannot afford it.
The condition of the people in Turkey is similar. But the dream of some people to go on a cruise ship has been fulfilled in a strange way in this country engaged in recovering from two tremors of the devastating earthquake.
In Iskenderun, in the worst-hit southern Turkish state of Hatay, thousands are still spending the day on luxury cruise ships that the government has turned into shelters for those left homeless by the quake.
The 538 feet long luxury cruise ship Gemini, anchored at the port of Iskenderun, is one of the 5 cruise ships that are not yet buzzing with the laughter of tourists and happy music.
About 1000 people have been accommodated on the Gemini Ship. All of them are residents of Iskenderun and have lost their families and homes in the earthquake.
After the earthquake, about 1.7 million people have become homeless in Turkey. In Hatay province itself, about 6.50 lakh people have left the area since the earthquake.
For those who are left here, the biggest difficulty now is to find a place to hide. The government has taken many immediate measures to deal with this problem and cruise ships like Gemini are also one of these measures.
Before the earthquake, Gemini used to take tourists on excursions from Turkey to the islands of Greece. In December, the Turkish Energy Department took this ship on lease for the housing of its staff.
When the earthquake struck, the government ordered the ship to be taken to Iskenderun Port. It has been converted into a temporary shelter. In this, on a priority basis, the elderly, pregnant women, and families with small children have been kept.
Most of the people living here have been on a cruise ship for the first time
Most of the people coming on the ship have set foot on a luxury cruise ship for the first time in their life.
'It's like a strange dream,' says 30-year-old nurse Basak Atay. Basak lost her home in the earthquake. Many of his relatives also died.
Before coming on the cruise ship, he along with his family took shelter in a car, then a tent, and then a hotel. During this, she continued to work as a nurse in the emergency room of the hospital.
She remembers that after coming on the cruise ship, she slept well after many days. She is still working at the hospital which is 20 minutes away from the port.
Basak says- 'I never thought that I would ever come on a cruise ship in such a situation. We often talk about what happy memories people have made here. But what happy memories will we make with broken hearts?
On Deck 6, Ayse Akigoze, 72, knits sweaters for her 15 grandchildren. She says that due to her age, she got a place on the cruise ship, but her grandchildren are still living in tents.
Kids run on deck…free haircut in a beauty salon
Today, kids and teens race on decks that span the entire length of the cruise. The lounge houses a daycare center for young children, where they play with donated toys.
In the cruise's beauty salon on deck 8, Yunus Kutuku, who runs a barbershop in Iskenderun, now cuts people's hair for free.
Yunus says that his shop also collapsed in the earthquake. When he came on this cruise ship and saw the salon, he thought that in these difficult times, people might get some relief by getting a haircut.
Every day there is a long line of children and men near them. Here in Iskenderun, many people who used to visit his shop were also reunited.
People watch the latest news from the aftermath of the earthquake on a TV in the ship's Eclipse Lounge. While some people spend time praying.
Everyone's food is made on the cruise
The food that came as relief material is prepared and served to the people in the kitchen of the cruise itself.
Ayse Simsek, 33, says the food is hot and different items are served every day.
Ayse says that she and her two daughters spent 9 days in a car after their house collapsed in the earthquake and during this time they lived only on the soup given by the relief workers.
Daughter born on cruise… named after shipping company
Gul Seker is 34 years old. She was pregnant when the earthquake struck and was due shortly.
The house was destroyed and she was living with her husband and son in a shelter made of shipping containers in Iskenderun.
A neighbor asked to apply for a place on a cruise. He applied and in no time he and his family got a spot on the cruise.
But even after coming here, he was worried about delivery. She says- 'I thought I would die. I had started telling my husband till my last wish.
But the receptionist and other people on the cruise teamed up to help him. She gave birth to a daughter in a government hospital.
Gul says- 'My daughter is a miracle for us. We have named the daughter Miraya after the shipping company that runs the cruise.
Clothes, milk bottles, and even diapers for the baby girl have been given as gifts by the people present on the cruise.
Also Read: Turkiye Earthquake: Earthquake tremors again in Turkey, a magnitude 5.5 on the Richter scale
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