ISTANBUL, Turkey — Elvin, the novelty curtain weaver has found it increasingly difficult to conduct business in Russia due to the sanctions in place according to Canan Sonmez, head of the Board of Directors. Canan’s father, Ahmet Cenan Sönmez, who initially focused the business on woman’s garments before it became a supplier of curtains, founded the company in 1959. Although Elvin has found ways to get around the Russian business sanctions and supply its loyal Russian customers, it has definitely felt the effects. Canan also believes the troubles with Russia can be resolved as quickly as they began. Based in Bursa Turkey, Elvin maintains a strong customer base all over Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the USA and Russia. “I don’t like politics, ” Canan says, but “wars and political unrest are always bad for business. We have experienced this before with the wars in Iraq, Lebanon, and now in Syria.” The regional instability in the Middle East has also taken its toll on the tourism industry in Turkey and has also affected Elvin, a supplier of textiles to hotels, airlines, cruise ships and ferryboats. Despite the recent setbacks Canan is optimistic about the future. “Tourism is changing quickly” she remarked, Turkey has already begun to focus on local tourism, and hotels are starting to see an increase in local travelers.”