I S T A N B U L, Turkey, Sept. 29
— Turkish newspapers have called him the sexiest man alive.
It is an unlikely title, laughingly acknowledged by the diminutive 58-year-old with a mop of white hair and a penchant for old-fashioned suspenders. In a country gripped by fear of another quake after last month’s tremor, which killed at least 15,600, Ahmet Mete Isikara is Mr. Earthquake.
Isikara heads Turkey’s main seismological institute. Previously little known, now his every word is gospel.
“I am quite a bashful character so I have been flattered by the attention,” he told Reuters, chuckling at how crowds at a recent Mozart concert gave him a standing ovation.
Einstein Clone Relatively Safe
Turks have seized on Isikara with a passion. The Einstein look-alike has become a symbol of propriety for a country angered by shoddy building and corrupt officialdom, which greatly compounded last month’s death toll.
He is seen as an embodiment of reason, civic responsibility and other values the public believes have gone by the wayside in Turkey amid the get-rich-quick ethos of recent years.
“When we mull Isikara’s sex appeal, we are finding traces of the despair we have been pushed into, the erosion of trust, the thirst for science and need for security,” wrote columnist Can Dundar in Sabah newspaper.
Part of Isikara’s appeal is due to the position of authority he assumed after the quake, organizing daily press briefings and television appearances to calm a panicked public. In contrast, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and his government came under fire for their perceived lack of organization and a series of public relations failures.
The main crisis center in Ankara was elusive and unreachable during the crisis.
Unusual Sleeping Request
Isikara will probably be best remembered for urging the entire 2 million population of the industrial city of Bursa to sleep outdoors on Aug. 19, two days after the earthquake. He had, he said, detected an unusual number of aftershocks, which he said could signal a new tremor.
Newspapers the next day were split over his action — was he acting responsibly, or was he mad, inviting panic?
“It was a very difficult decision,” he said, remembering that night in his office overlooking Istanbul. “But I had to make it. There was something going on in front of us and someone had to warn the public.”
The aftershocks turned out to be what is called an “earthquake storm” and in the early hours of the morning Isikara withdrew his warning and gave the all-clear. Meanwhile, with millions camped out in cars and parks under the stars, the government made not a single public appearance all night.
Later, even Isikara’s media critics recanted.
Bringing Back Normalcy
The earthquake expert, trained in Japan, has also proved uncannily savvy at using his new high profile. A month after the earthquake, and still sleeping in the observatory perched above the Bosporus Straits, Isikara decided it was time to coax Turks back to normal life — by going to a football game.
People seized on the sight of him rooting for his team as a sign that things were back to normal. “Mr. Earthquake goes to the match” splashed the newspapers on their front pages.
“We realized that seeing me do things gives people confidence,” said Isikara. “People draw strength from this, they say, ‘Ah, so he has gone to the match,’ and relax.”
Since then, there has been “Mr. Earthquake at the Cinema,” “Mr. Earthquake at the Barber,” and finally, 35 days after the tremor, “Mr. Earthquake Goes Home.”
His neighbors were bemused, his wife delighted.
Isikara believes the earthquake has fundamentally changed aspects of Turkish society for the better. “Nobody will forget this earthquake, this is very important. It has unleashed a desire for better information,” he said.
As for his sex appeal? At least one columnist was tongue in cheek. “Men’s magazines have been telling us for years how to turn a woman on. As it turns out, all it takes is to whisper in her ear: darling, not to worry but I am reading an earthquake warning....”
Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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S U M M A R Y
Ahmet Mete Isikara, the head of Turkey’s main seismological institute, has become one of the few authorities people trust in the weeks since that country’s quake.
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