Gold rush at Turkish bazaar a test of trust for lowly lira

Hasan Ayhan followed his wife's instructions last week and took their savings to buy gold at Istanbul's Grand Bazaar as Turks scooped up bullion worth $7 billion in a just a fortnight. With memories of a currency crisis which rocked Turkey's economy only two years ago fresh in his mind, the retired police officer was among those playing it safe as he queued in the city's sprawling covered market, where a screen showed the gold price rise by one Turkish lira ($0.1366) in just 10 minutes. "I think it is the best investment right now so I converted my dollars to buy gold," the 57-year-old said, adding: "I might withdraw my lira and buy gold with it too, but I am scared to go to the bank right now because of coronavirus."