A “coronavirus-proof” summer house in Turkey’s Aegean resort town of Didim is up for sale online, and the buyer will get 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of traditional sanitizer as a gift – just in case.
Could it be a way of escaping the spreading pandemic?
The number of confirmed cases in Turkey jumped to 359 and the death toll hit four, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Thursday.
Turkey has taken several measures to stem the spread of the virus such as temporarily closing schools and universities, cafes; halting events and public activities, postponing foreign visits, barring spectators at sports events and halting flights to 20 countries.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan advised citizens on Wednesday not to leave home unless necessary for three weeks and to minimize social contact until the threat of the coronavirus recedes.
Some dealers have taken the opportunity to spice up their trade online.
“My goal was to cheer up people through these depressing days,” says 29-year-old realtor Emre Şahin, who is selling the three-story Didim villa, in the city of Aydın, some 620 kilometers (385 miles) to the southeast of Istanbul.
More than 600 people from across Turkey have called Şahin since the last weekend, some just to congratulate him on his humor, others interested in real business.
Şahin is giving away 10 liters of the lemon-scented cologne, a traditional alcohol-based disinfectant which Turks offer to guests at home, in taxis or in cafes, as hospitality demands.
The demand for cologne skyrocketed amid the outbreak of coronavirus and people went as far as to search for it in the black market. To stop profiteering, the government restricted its exports.
“Some people called only to ask for the cologne. I am serious, you can buy a home with it nowadays,” Şahin said when reached by phone.
The villa is still on sale for TL 630,000 ($97,000).
A cologne producer company even offered to publicize the sale, Şahin added. “They wanted to send their own product with which the buyer can pose for an advertisement.”
‘At a height even coronavirus cannot reach’
Some other realtors took the issue to a new level.
A sales advert of an apartment on the 13th floor, in Ankara reads “At a height, even coronavirus cannot reach.”
Another advert for sale of a farmhouse in the Aegean city of İzmir asked, “Are you ready for a healthy life at the 960-meter-altitude.”
An online sales ad for the sale of a house in Izmir on online platform sahibinden.com read, “For coronavirus quarantine.”
On the same website sits a car sales advert that reads, “Disinfected car. Not a single person with coronavirus has driven it.”
“It is normally not nice to make fun of a deadly epidemic. But we still want to put a smile on people’s faces,” says Seyfettin Bayram, explaining he hoped the headline would attract buyers to his 2014-model sedan passenger car, on sale for TL 95,000.
Some others cater to personal hygiene.
“Corona-repellent” olive oil soap for TL 25 each from Ayvalık in the Aegean city of Balıkesir, reads another advert.
Others promise that the power of healthy nutrition will help you survive. “Antidote for corona,” reads one honey advertisement.
One dealer claims his homemade black mulberry molasses from the eastern city of Elaziğ is the perfect “cure for coronavirus.”
The Trade Ministry last week warned against panic-buying due to the pandemic and said it will fine dealers for any misleading online sale advertisements related to the virus.
Last Updated on Mar 20, 2020 8:04 pm
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