ISTANBUL, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's traditional cologne (Kolonya in Turkish) has been sold out in shops across Istanbul on Thursday after the country's health minister said that it is effective against the novel coronavirus.
Many stores in the European part of the city posted notes on their shop windows, saying "no Kolonya left."
Citizens in Istanbul started to buy cologne in bottles or barrels after Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said cleaning hands with cologne would kill the virus, as it contains a high ratio of alcohol.
"Since yesterday, our sales have exploded," one of the shop owners in the Eminonu neighborhood told Xinhua. "I couldn't even take some home."
They prefer the lemon cologne best, which has over 80 percent alcohol rate, he continued, "now all of our lemon cologne bottles were sold out."
Cologne became an indispensable element of the daily life of Turkish people during the Ottoman era with its many different types that belong to different regions.
"Normally, everyone has a bottle of Kolonya at home," Mustafa Korucu, a resident at the Kurtulus neighborhood, told Xinhua.
"Offering a lemon cologne when we welcome a guest at home is a ritual for Turkish people," he continued. "Additionally, when we arrive home from outside, the first thing we do is to put some in our palms."
It is widely known by Turks that a high rate of alcohol in cologne acts as a hygiene agent and it kills germs, Korucu said.
He went to a nearby shop earlier in the day to buy some more Kolonya after the authorities announced the first confirmed case in Turkey.
But, he faced with a sign saying "no Kolonya left." "People have almost looted the shops," he said.
