With 48 hours left until 2008, all of Istanbul is preparing for a very Christmas-like New Year, complete with Christmas trees, reindeer, Turkish Santas and zombie-like shopping sprees. Although Christmas symbols in Turkey seem at first like a bizarre mismatch, people here are used to them because of the country's secular urban tradition.Above are three hopeful shoppers from the Nisantasi district.
The streets and squares are also decked out with lights, although nowhere as lavishly as in Europe or America. The entire holiday is commercialized to the fullest; this tacky ur-Xmas tree is sponsored by the "happiness factory" commercials of a major soft drink company.
