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With purges intensifying, rich Turks are mopping up real estate in Greece. Old tensions may loom, but the incentive for secular Turks is sweet: visa-free stay in an EU member state. Anthee Carassava reports from Athens.
A lanky man in a bright red shirt paces across a wood-paneled waiting room. He peers out of the window, then plops into a comfy black chair, bouncing back up again within minutes to place a string of telephone calls, pacing the room once again.
Unnerved by the presence of a reporter, the lanky man shies away from any conversation, refusing to divulge his name and details of his family and their whereabouts.
"I'm just looking," he says, glancing over a listing of apartments on sale in central Athens, making casual and polite talk.
When the conversation, however, shifts to developments in his homeland, the mid-aged man raises a critical eyebrow. And when the name of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes up, he breaks his silence. "I never trusted that man," he tells DW in broken English. "God knows what he is capable of and what more he can do. One can only be prepared."
Read: Greece rejects new extradition request for Turkish soldiers
For hundreds of thousands of secular Turks concerned about Erdogan's descent from democracy, Greece is proving a surprise escape.
Escaping Erdogan
Since a mutinous faction of Turkey's armed forces moved to overthrow the government there, real estate agents in Athens have been inundated by Turkish clients. Many realtors speak of a 50 percent rise in interest in the past year. But following the April referendum that gave sweeping powers to Erdogan - intensifying a colossal purge tearing the heart of any remaining hope of democracy that depends on independents voices, justice and an unfettered political competition - interest has rocketed even further.
"My phone can't stop ringing," says Kostas Arslanoglou, a realtor with Central Real Estate receiving up to 50 calls a day from prospective buyers.
"And look," he tells DW, logging into the Turkish-language website investgreece.gr website that he set up recently to accommodate clients, mainly from Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara. "Just today I have had 353 views."
A lanky man in a bright red shirt paces across a wood-paneled waiting room. He peers out of the window, then plops into a comfy black chair, bouncing back up again within minutes to place a string of telephone calls, pacing the room once again.
Unnerved by the presence of a reporter, the lanky man shies away from any conversation, refusing to divulge his name and details of his family and their whereabouts.
"I'm just looking," he says, glancing over a listing of apartments on sale in central Athens, making casual and polite talk.
When the conversation, however, shifts to developments in his homeland, the mid-aged man raises a critical eyebrow. And when the name of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes up, he breaks his silence. "I never trusted that man," he tells DW in broken English. "God knows what he is capable of and what more he can do. One can only be prepared."
Read: Greece rejects new extradition request for Turkish soldiers
For hundreds of thousands of secular Turks concerned about Erdogan's descent from democracy, Greece is proving a surprise escape.
Escaping Erdogan
Since a mutinous faction of Turkey's armed forces moved to overthrow the government there, real estate agents in Athens have been inundated by Turkish clients. Many realtors speak of a 50 percent rise in interest in the past year. But following the April referendum that gave sweeping powers to Erdogan - intensifying a colossal purge tearing the heart of any remaining hope of democracy that depends on independents voices, justice and an unfettered political competition - interest has rocketed even further.
"My phone can't stop ringing," says Kostas Arslanoglou, a realtor with Central Real Estate receiving up to 50 calls a day from prospective buyers.
"And look," he tells DW, logging into the Turkish-language website investgreece.gr website that he set up recently to accommodate clients, mainly from Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara. "Just today I have had 353 views."
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