Oren Dorell

USA TODAY

ISTANBUL — This historic city that straddles Europe and Asia has long profited from being one of the world's top tourist attractions, especially for Europeans who would throng to the Sultanahmet district that is home to the Hagia Sophia museum, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.

But now, most of those Europeans are gone because they are angry with Turkey for what appears to be a lurch away from democracy to an authoritarian state under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, complained carpet seller Oscar Raci, 43, who had gone 10 days without a single buying customer.

“Compared to 18 months ago, business is down 90%,” said Raci. “They think the reporters are all in jail, there is no freedom of speech in Turkey and this guy (Erdogan) is like a dictator.”

Musicians, artists, hotel managers and others who depend on tourism also expressed concern about their economic well-being as Turks vote on a crucial constitutional referendum Sunday that could determine their political and personal freedoms.

At issue is a push by Erdogan to expand the powers of his largely ceremonial post, a move he says will bring greater prosperity and stability to Turkey but which opponents fear will only increase the authority of a would-be despot. Sunday's constitutional referendum has deeply divided many Turks.

Whether a powerful presidency will lead to a better country is in sharp dispute. Supporters of the referendum say changing Erdogan's job to a position more akin to the U.S. presidency will improve the economy and provide Turkey a strong leader at a time of enormous challenges.

Those opposed to the change fear Erdogan would undermine Turkey's democracy and secular traditions and institute a religious authoritarianism regime in this mostly Muslim nation.

Read more:

Why Turkey's constitutional referendum on Sunday is such a big deal

Why Turkey's referendum matters to the U.S.

While Raci does not support Erdogan, he said conditions in Turkey are not as bad as the perception abroad. “I say what I want,” he said.

Several other business people, however, refused to be photographed or asked a reporter not to name their businesses for fear of government retribution.

That's because this city of 14.6 million people is still reeling from a massive crackdown on judges, civil servants, educators and journalists that followed a failed coup last summer. In addition, the country has been shaken by a string of terror attacks and ongoing confrontations between Erdogan and European leaders who question his commitment to democracy.

Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah manager Pinar Timer (pronounced Teem-er) said reservations dropped 55% in the past two years at the hotel, which was built in 1892 for European travelers of the Orient Express train made famous by crime novelist Agatha Christie in the 1920s.

"In the oasis of Istanbul, the daily issues we are dealing with are too much," said Timer, whose luxurious Belle Epoque getaway, with its French patisserie and lavishly decorated English tea room, was strangely quiet despite a hum of activity outside.

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On a recent day, few foreign visitors browsed an exhibit featuring photographs of actresses from the golden age of Hollywood, or another featuring semi-precious stones indigenous to Turkey.

Pera Palace owner Demet Sabanci Cetindolan, who comes from one of the country’s wealthiest families, acknowledged that business has been "a bit slower right now but we have a big country and soon the economy will get better.”

Mehmet Simsek, a deputy prime minister and former finance minister, told a group of reporters in the capital, Ankara, that after a small contraction in one quarter after the attempted coup, economic growth resumed a modest 1% in the last quarter. “Turkey is still a large middle-income country with strong entrepreneurship and geographic positioning,” he said.

“If there’s any story about the economy it’s a story of resilience,” the deputy prime minister said.

Not everyone agrees. Ibrahim Sayin, 39, who owns several live music clubs, said business is down 20% to 40% even though his clubs feature Turkish musicians and are not dependent on tourists. Sayin said Erdogan’s creeping Islamic authoritarianism is a threat to the free and secular lifestyle he and many Turks want to live — and a threat to Turkey’s economic ties to the West.

“We don’t want the coup attempt, but I don’t want someone to dictate social values, to tell me I can’t drink or have free sex,” Sayin said as he smoked cigarettes, swigged beer and cuddled a young lawyer he described later as “one of my girlfriends.”

Turkey used to have dozens of independent newspapers, each with it’s own political viewpoint, he said. But a few years ago, the government issued disciplinary fines to news outlets that were critical of the government and many were forced to sell. Erdogan’s political party “had their friends buy them,” Sayin said. “Now all the newspapers are friendly to Erdogan.”

Music producer Ahmet Celenk, 58, said that before the coup attempt, he was planning a national tour for some of his artists, but “when I heard the coup attempt started, I cancelled everything. We can’t have concerts when we’re talking about the future of our country.”

In the following two months he lost 70% of his gigs. Then, many of his friends and some of his lawyers and accountants were swept up in the crackdown that followed.

Celenk said despite the political turmoil he believes Turkey's future is bright. “We have a young dynamic population that aims to live like Western people,” he said.

Celenk sees an opportunity among the 3.5 million Syrians who’ve taken refuge in Turkey because of the six-year-old civil war south of the border. He made a rock star of one street musician, Koray Avci, who Celenk has sent on international tour.

Now Celenk has talent agents looking for “a Syrian lady” who has what it takes to become the next Turkish-Arab cultural sensation.

Zeynep Cifcili, 32, who’s working toward a graduate degree in marketing, returned last summer after a college semester in Washington, D.C., to a job market in a tailspin. “I’ve been working 14 years and always found good paying jobs,” Cifcili said. “But not after the coup attempt.”

The few available jobs are going to people with experience rather than recent graduates, so “I decided to make my own start-up,” she said.

She’s using her time before graduation to showcase her promotion skills on social media, getting certified to set up a business and applying for a government loan. “Some troubles create chances,” she said.