As war rages, anxious Iranians seek way home from Istanbul
Some Iranians have been stranded abroad and are trying to get home to their loved ones, despite the ongoing air strikes. PHOTO: REUTERS
– Dozens of worried Iranians huddled in the shade of an Istanbul bus shelter on June 17 , waiting for a bus to take them back home, despite an intensifying air war between Iran and Israel.
Flights to Iran were suspended on June 13 after Israel launched a devastating attack on Tehran's nuclear facilities, sparking a deadly confrontation, which is now in its fifth day.
Although many have fled the Israeli bombardments of Tehran, other Iranians have been stranded abroad and are trying to get home to their loved ones, despite the ongoing air strikes.
'I want to look after my parents, they're afraid,' said Mr Babak Alpor, 34, who flew from Tehran to Istanbul to visit his brother who is studying in Turkey's largest city.
Horrified by the images of the bombings, Mr Alpor decided to cut short his trip and go home to his parents, despite his mother begging him to stay with his brother.
But with all flights cancelled, he was forced to find another way home – a one-way bus trip back to the Iranian capital that will take 38 hours and cost him 5,000 Turkish lira (S$160).
'I'm not scared, but of course I'm sad. Nobody likes war,' he told AFP.
Next to him, a group of women were talking quietly in Persian.
'They're saying they are afraid and don't want to go back,' he explained.
Turkey is a popular destination for tourists from neighbouring Iran, with 460,000 of them visiting in the first two months of the year, official figures show.
Crying and crying
Elsewhere, an Iranian student hugged her mother and younger sister goodbye as they boarded the bus for Tehran, the anxiety plain on her face as it pulled away.
Her mother was afraid but decided to go back to be with another daughter who was stuck in Tehran and very frightened, explained the physiotherapy student who did not want to give her name.
'My other sister who stayed in Iran is just crying and crying,' she said.
Overnight, US President Donald Trump urged Tehran's nearly 10 million residents to leave 'immediately', his words echoing warnings from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite the warnings, some travellers were trying to put on a brave face.
'It will be over soon, I think it will last a maximum of two or three weeks,' said Mr Fahim, an Iranian tourist in his 40s who was visiting Istanbul with his wife and two little girls.
Although they will pass through Tehran, their bus journey of 2,700km will end in Sari, a town five hours north-east of the capital.
'Where we live, everything is OK,' he said in a show of confidence aimed at reassuring his young family. 'Peace is coming.'
But others know the cost of the conflict will be high.
'We have bad people running the country who have been there for far too long,' said another young passenger who did not give his name.
'It will take at least 10 years to rebuild what has been destroyed in this war.' AFP
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