Turkish citizens are abandoning the country’s currency, the lira, in exchange for U.S. dollars amid an unstable economy that has seen inflation levels soar. The lira crashed 15 percent against the dollar on Tuesday last week in its second-worst day ever after President Tayyip Erdogan, who has led the country since 2003, said that he would not be deterred by rising inflation and defended recent sharp rate cuts, declaring an “economic war of independence.” Overall, the lira has fallen 45 percent this year, largely in response to a series of interest rates cuts by the central bank governor, Sahap Kavcioglu. The currency crisis has seen Turks racing to exchange their lira for dollars, euros, and other more stable currencies. Foreign currencies held by households in Turkish banks last week through Nov. 19 rose by nearly $1 billion, according to data released by the Turkish central bank on Thursday. Roughly 59 percent of retail bank deposits …