In photos: A year of COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

It has been one year since Turkey reported its first COVID-19 cases. Despite success in the fight, a new surge raises concerns as the country seeks to balance normalization with prevailing measures to curb infections.

Municipality workers wearing protective suits sanitize a taxi in Karaağaç district against the coronavirus near Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey, March 10, 2020.

Tourists wearing protective face masks, due to coronavirus concerns, stroll at Sultanahmet square in Istanbul, Turkey, March 17, 2020.

Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia is seen in the background.

A general view of the deserted Taksim Square during the curfews aimed at curbing COVID-19 infections, March 17, 2020.

Hairdresser Oğuz Kutlu disinfects scissors as he applies a treatment on his customer Pinar Ersin's hair. Both can be seen wearing protective masks, on the first day of the reopening of his hair salon which was closed since March 21 amid the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 11, 2020.

A municipality worker in a protective suit feeds street cats at Sultanahmet Square, as the spread of coronavirus continued in Istanbul, Turkey, April 9, 2020.

Cashiers in protective suits work in an exchange office at Grand Bazaar, which has been closed since March 23 and was reopened completely on June 1, amid the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 8, 2020.

A worker sprays disinfectant outside the Ortaköy Mosque, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2020.

Passengers lay on benches, during the outbreak of the coronavirus, at Istanbul Airport, Turkey March 29, 2020.

Istanbul Municipality's Lifetime Learning Center teachers sew protective face masks in their classrooms to help contain the spread of the coronavirus in Istanbul, April 8, 2020.

A clock showing the time at noon is displayed for a photo at Eminönü district during the coronavirus outbreak, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2020.

A basket with free food is seen as it is lowered from the window of Jeffrey Tucker, a British expatriate living in Istanbul, as a sign of social solidarity with poor and homeless people in need amid the coronavirus outbreak in Istanbul, Turkey April 3, 2020.

Cardboard reads, "Those who have the means, add. Those who need, take."

Municipality workers take measures as they paint circles that serve as guidelines for social distancing at Dalyan Park during a 4-day curfew amid the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey May 25, 2020.

Workers in protective suits disinfect a street in response to the spread of coronavirus in Istanbul, Turkey, March 20, 2020.

A man looks out from a dormitory where he is placed under quarantine in response to the spreading of coronavirus, after returning from abroad, in Istanbul, Turkey March 18, 2020.

An aerial view of the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, during a four-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Istanbul, Turkey, April 24, 2020.

Workers wearing protective gear unload a shipment of medical supplies from Turkey intended to help in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus, from a cargo plane that arrived at Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan, April 18, 2020.

Nurse Dilara Fahrioğlu's goggles are covered with vapor after taking care of a patient suffering from coronavirus at an intensive care unit of the Medicana International Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, April 14, 2020.

Senior Turkish citizens over 65 years old who were not allowed to go out of their houses since April 4 enjoy a sunny day after being exempted from curfew for four hours amid the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey, May 10, 2020.

Police officers patrol in front of the Blue Mosque during the last day of the weekend curfew announced by the Turkish authorities to stem the spread of the ongoing pandemic in Istanbul, Turkey, April 12, 2020.

A health worker injects an experimental Chinese coronavirus vaccine to a volunteer as Turkey began final Phase 3 trials at Kocaeli University Research Hospital in Kocaeli, Turkey Sep. 25, 2020.

Mannequins are seen placed between tables to make customers sit according to social distancing rules in a bar that reopened after being closed for weeks, amid the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 1, 2020.

Istanbul city appears deserted due to a two-day curfew imposed by the Turkish government in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus from spreading in Turkey, April 11, 2020.

People wearing protective face masks walk among the shops in the Eminönü district amid the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 1, 2020.

Fatih Municipality workers in protective suits disinfect the Ottoman-era Fatih Mosque to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in Istanbul, Turkey Dec. 30, 2020.

A general view of Konyaalti beach, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020.

Members of the Gevaş Public Health Center vaccination team walk back to their vehicle through the snow after a house call to vaccinate a resident of Kayalar village, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.

A man feeds seagulls during a two-day curfew amid the spread of the coronavirus in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 31, 2021.