The shopkeepers in Gaziantep celebrated the opening of Instagram by distributing lokma.

Access to the social media platform Instagram in Turkey was restricted as of August 2nd by the decision of the Information Technologies Institution (BTK). The 9-day access ban was lifted after an agreement between the government and Instagram officials. Local shopkeepers in Gaziantep celebrated the reopening of the application by distributing lokma (a traditional Turkish sweet) in front of their shops.

SHOPKEEPERS CELEBRATE THE REOPENING OF INSTAGRAM WITH LOKMA DISTRIBUTION

Shopkeepers, emphasizing the importance of social media platforms in daily life and conducting their businesses through these platforms, expressed that the reopening of Instagram will have a positive impact on their businesses. The tradition of distributing lokma is usually associated with important events and celebrations in Turkey, so the shopkeepers' celebration in this way drew attention and attracted intense interest from the public.

"WE HAD A VOID WHEN INSTAGRAM WAS CLOSED"

Ahmet Erdoğan, a shopkeeper who distributed lokma due to the reopening of Instagram, stated that he received positive reactions from the public and said, "The reason why we are distributing lokma today is the reopening of Instagram in Turkey. We respect the decisions made by our government. We thank everyone very much for resolving the issues and reopening the access. We had a void when Instagram was closed, so we wanted to eat sweets and have sweet conversations by distributing lokma, and we received great reactions."

"A BEAUTIFUL THOUGHT"

Yunus Emre, one of the citizens who stated that they felt a void due to the closure of Instagram, found the distributed lokma interesting and said it was a beautiful thought. Emre stated, "The closure of Instagram was like life coming to a halt for us. After all, whether we went on vacation or not, it felt like we had gone. We saw people's vacations and the work they did. Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything during the 9-day period when Instagram was closed. We were very upset. When it was announced that it would be accessible again, we eagerly waited and then it was reopened, and we were very happy. While passing by, I saw our shopkeeper distributing lokma. I was very surprised; it was something interesting, but I consider it a beautiful thought."

Coşkun Yıldız, who does not want Instagram to be closed again, stated that both sides need to be careful and said, "When access to Instagram was banned, I felt like I was in a void. I couldn't access the application in any way, but when I heard that the problem was resolved, I was very happy. While passing by, we also saw our shopkeeper distributing lokma. I was very surprised that he was distributing lokma because of Instagram. Hopefully, there won't be such incidents again, and we hope that both sides will be careful."