Accidental Aliens

aliens links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 12 August 2011)

In Keşan district of Edirne province traffic police stopped a minibus
carrying 12 foreigners. When it was determined that the foreigners
did not have their passports with them the Smuggling and Organized
Crime team stepped in and the 12 foreigner and the Turkish driver
were taken into custody.

It was subsequently learned that the foreigners were in fact American
and Indian tourists who had left their passports at their hotel. They
were all released, including the Turkish driver.

Con Man Claims College Girl Conned Him

hoodwink links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 12 August 2011)

A con man who called office worker C.K. in Kemer, Antalya, said 'your
phone line is being monitored. Put money into the numbered account I give
you and the inquiry will be discontinued.' So C.K.  put 9,000TL of the
30,000TL demanded by the con man into the account but then realized he'd
been duped and called the police.

Based on C.K.'s complaint, police surrounded the bank branch where
account holder Sedat Diyek would withdraw the money. Diyek drove
up to the bank in a luxury car, parked it and entered the bank.When he
showed the bank teller his identity card and took the money he was
caught red-handed.

During his interrogation, Diyek stated that 'I was with a college girl last
night who said that she was expecting a money order and asked if she
could use my account. I said ok. Apparently she was a charlatan.'

Turkish Turtle Breaks Israeli Blockade of Gaza

turtle links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 12 August 2011)

Tuğçe Barış, one of two Caretta Caretta sea turtles fitted with chips by the
Special Environmental Protection Council (SEPC) for satellite tracking,
has reached Gaza after setting out from Iztuzu Beach in Dalyan. SEPC
Chief Ahmet Özyanık said jokingly that 'it's gone to Gaza and broken
through Israel's blockade.'

SEPC attached the TR-90 number chips to two turtles within the scope of
the Sea Turtle Research and Protection Project in July. Muğla Province's
Deputy Governor Ahmet Ali Barış gave the name Tuğçe Barış ('barış'
means 'peace') to one of the 60 year-old turtles with the wish that it
would bring peace to Mediterranean countries. A code name was given
to the other turtle. The chip-carrying turtles' paths were tracked via the
website http://www.seaturtle.org/. After heading into the sea from Iztuzu Beach
at midnight on 7 July, Tuğçe Barış reached Gaza in 35 days, covering
1056 kilometers during the journey.

When SEPC Chief Özyanık learned that his turtle had reached Gaza he
said 'this is an international web site. We see where it went. Tuğçe Barış
is currently in Gaza. It's track is certain. The other turtle set out from
Fethiye and went to Marmarıs and two Greek islands. Right now its
roaming around the shore near Bodrum.'
 

Drumstick Saves Turkey's Drummer

drum links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 11 August 2011)

A local resident disturbed by the sound of the Ramazan drum at 3 AM told
the drummer 'go play somewhere else!'. In the ensuing argument a knife took
part and the drummer won't work for 15 days.

In Isparta's Keçiborlu district, Ramazan drummer Halil Ibrahim Eğri (45)
began to play his drum at 3 AM to rouse citizens for breakfast. Eğri kept on
playing and singing Turkish folk songs as he came to Istasyon Boulevard.
Deniz Kayacan (31) was disturbed by the sound of the drum and yelled
at Eğri from his window, saying 'Why are you disturbing us? Go take your
drum and play somewhere else!' When Eğri continued to beat the drum
Kayacan came out of his house and began cursing at Eğri.

During their argument Kayacan attacked Eğri with a knife. Eğri tried to
fend off the attack with his drumstick but was nevertheless wounded in
his left arm, chest and back from knife blows. Eğri, however, succeeded
in striking Kayacan's arm with his drumstick and grabbed the knife. Eğri,
who is married and has three children, was taken to the hospital where
he obtained a report that will keep him off work for 15 days. Kayacan
was arrested shortly afterwards.

Short Bus Ride Results in Girl's Bloody Lip

shorts links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 10 August 2011)

In Istanbul, a young girl who boarded a bus wearing shorts after her
volleyball practice was punched by a male passenger.

Nurcan Ibrahimoğlu (19), who plays on the PAV volleyball team in
Beşiktaş and attends Haliç University as a sophomore in its Sports
Academy Sports Management department, claimed that she was punched
by someone shouting 'you're disrupting public morals!' while riding on
the IETT 42M bus line from Bahçeköy on 28 July. She related her
experience as follows: 'It was the 2030 bus. Since I was so tired I
stretched out my legs. A 40-45 year old man kept watching me and
then bumped into my leg as he passed.'

The man started to insult Ibrahimoğlu, saying 'people like you are corrupting
the community's morals and honor.' Ibrahimoğlu explained that 'my foot hurt
and I'm an athlete. I had run all day. My feet were hurting so I had to
stretch out. I was wearing basketball shorts. He said 'you've stretched out
your naked legs! You're seducing the community, corrupting its honor!'
So I said 'you're my father's age. Is it people like me who are corrupting
public morals?' At this point he punched me and my lip exploded. I started
to scream and the other people on the bus separated us. But when I asked
for help a woman said 'don't bring trouble on us so late in the day.' I was
covered in blood and said 'stop the bus! I want to call the police!' but some
people interferred to prevent this, telling the driver not to stop. When I called
the police the man got off the bus.'

Ibrahimoğlu stated that the police were not particularly interested when she
went to the police station. She said she was turned away from the Şişli
police station where she had gone to get a report because no bones had
been broken and there had been no stabbing.

Questions posed to the IETT garage at 4th Levent, which is the base for
the bus involved in the punching attack, went unanswered. The driver, whose
name was not revealed, provided information to the IETT General
Directorate about the incident. He confirmed that it had taken place but said
that the girl athlete had left the bus as he headed toward the police station.
 

Smoker Not Fast Enough for Enforcers

fasting links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 8 August 2011)

//ed. note: during the current month of Ramazan, some people fast -
abstaining from food, drink, sex, cigarettes, etc. - during daylight hours.
Others don't.//

Z.B., who works for a foreign company in Yakutiye district of Erzurum, lit
up a cigarette when no one else was around while strolling with her
boyfriend I.M. After taking a few puffs Z.B. was confronted by M.Y. and
B.G. who approached her from across the street. They said 'Put out the
cigarette, you ill-mannered girl!'  In reply, Z.B. stated that 'I may not be
fasting right now or I may prefer not to fast. Why do you care?', allegedly
prompting M.Y. and B.G. to assault her.

When Z.B. and her boyfriend I.M., who were being roughed up by M.Y.
and B.G., saw a crowd of onlookers gathering they sought refuge in a
nearby boys student dormitory and called police for help. Z.B. and I.M.
explained the situation to the police and filed a complaint against M.Y.
and B.G. for bothering them. As the police tried to take the suspects in
for questioning a tumult erupted among the crowd that had gathered.

Three people, including a policeman, were slightly hurt during the
disturbance. After it subsided police brought Z.B. and I.M., the
complainants, and the two who had bothered them about the cigarette,
M.Y. and B.G., to the police station. Each side filed complaints about
the other. They were all then taken to court to make statements and
subsequently released.

Smart Lawyers Taken to Cleaners

lawyers links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 8 August 2011)

In Kartal, Istanbul, a robbery that occurred at the law office of two sisters
is causing people who've heard about it to say 'this is too much!'. The
interesting theft was committed in Kartal's Soğanlık neighborhood where
the Doruk Law Office run by lawyer sisters Zeynep Sümeyye Bakırcı and
Münevver Kübra Bakırcı was robbed in broad daylight by two people.

The robbery came to pass this way: while Zeynep was in the office two
people came to the door and one of them asked her 'Miss Zeynep, do
you recognize me? I had been working with you accountant.' In response,
Zeynep mentioned the accountant's name, saying 'you mean
Mr. Muammer?' When the suspect said 'yes' Zeynep let them into the
office.

Once inside one of the suspects said he wanted to talk with Zeynep
privately about a divorce case and they went into a side room together.
At this point, while Zeynep was being thus distracted, the other suspect
disabled the security camera, secretly stole valuables in the room and
took money out of Zeynep's purse before leaving the office.

Zeynep said that although she is a lawyer she had nevertheless been duped.
Police are looking for the suspects who were briefly caught on video.

Shoe-Cam Forester Can't Skirt Arrest

skirt links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 7 August 2011)

The Deputy Provincial Chief of Antalya's Environment and Forest
Directorate has reportedly been caught taking pictures under the skirts of
women, using a camera attached to his shoe. M.K. (48) has been relieved
of duty by the governor's office. He was taken into custody by police when
women at a local market complained.

When brought to the police station the secret camera on his shoe was found
and removed. M.K. denied the charges against him but was remanded to
custody after his interrogation by police. After posting 10,000TL bond he
was released pending trial. Nevertheless, the Antalya Governor's Office
has begun an administrative inquiry into the incident and M.K. has been
put on leave.
 

Zeynep's Wrath - She Goes Postal

wrath links to original article

(Gazete5 website, 7 August 2011)

A woman in Adana has been taken into custody on suspicion that she had
four people, two of them her cousins who attend a university, beat her
boyfriend after he broke off their relationship.

Mustafa Akçalı was beaten to within an inch of his life and thown into the
garden of a hospital. Based on his statement, police took the woman and
four others into custody. Akçalı received treatment for serious injuries at
the hospital where he had been abandoned and fingered his ex-girlfriend
Zeynep Ç. for the crime.

Akçalı claimed that Zeynep had run up charges totalling 6,500TL on credit
cards he gave her but when he asked her for the money she threatened him.
He went on to say that he was tortured at the house he was taken to and
that 700TL was stolen from him.

The police then went into action and determined that the suspects had gone
to Mersin for a holiday after the kidnapping-beating-torture incident. Upon
their return to Adana they were arrested. Among those detained were
Mustafa E. (43) who works in a bank, university students Veysel Ç. and
Ebubekir Ç., postal worker Zeynep Ç. and teacher Süleyman K. Only one
of the suspects admitted guilt to police, while the others claimed to have
had no involvement.

Bet I Can Crash Into a Truck!

crash links to original article

(Posta Newspaper, 6 August 2011)

A car driven by Kemal Başkal (19) toward morning along the Antalya-
Burdur road crashed into the back of a truck. Along with the driver Başkal,
Bekir Oğuz (20) and Barış Can Baktimur (18) escaped the incident, in
which the car was wrecked, with minor injuries.

Kemal Başkal gave the following statement: 'I made a bet with my friends
that I'd crash the car into a truck, so I did it.' Truck driver Hüsametin Alkan,
who was unhurt, said that 'at the moment of impact I felt like an earthquake
had happened.'

 

Without Bad Luck, No Luck At All

luckless links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 2 August 2011)

Saim Aybak, who works in a bakery, participated in a contest to win a
Mini-Cooper automobile arranged by Virgin Radio. Since he had been
hoodwinked once before, Aybak wrote the name 'Ibrahim Acıferhat' on
the contest entry form. When he won he regretted that he had used a false
name.

Aybak, who is 33, works as a day laborer in a bakery in Bozyazı district
of Mersin. About two and a half months ago while walking in the Beyoğlu
district of Istanbul he signed up for a contest run by Virgin Radio. In his
own words, he said that he was approached by two women who told him
'find the gum inside this car and the Mini-Cooper is yours.'  Aybak signed
the entry form and found the gum in the car. But because he had been fooled
once before he put the name 'Ibrahim Acıferhat' on the contest form instead
of his real name.

Aybak explained that two years ago, while eating in a Beyoğlu Municipality
restaurant a person approached him and identified himself as the personnel
manager of a large company.  This person told Aybak that he would send
him to Germany for a job and opened a phone account in Aybak's name.
Subsequently, when Aybak didn't pay the telephone bills he received a
debt notice in the amount of 5,800TL from the Şişli Debt Collection
Authority arrived. Aybak filed an objection with the Şişli Prosecutor and
court proceedings are continuing.

Unlucky winner Aybak said that with this fraud experience in mind he had
put down a different name for the Mini-Cooper contest but after winning
he felt regret. Now, he says he wants the car he won but his only hope is
the telephone number he wrote on the form. 'My one hope is the phone
number I put down on the contest form, which is registered in my real
name. There's no one named 'Ibrahim Acıferhat'. I'm throwing myself at
the mercy of the company that ran the contest and expecting to get the
Mini-Cooper I've won. But I don't even have money enough to pay the
car's operating expenses myself.'

It was difficult to convince Saim Aybak that he had won the Mini-Cooper
in the Virgin Radio contest. One of the station's DJs, Geveze (Chatterbox),
called Aybak during his program yesterday morning to tell him that he had
won the car. Aybak, however, fearing that he might be duped yet again,
told Geveze 'don't call me again!' and slammed the phone down. Aybak
was called again a number of times and responded the same way each
time.

It's 'Fall -Off-the-Roof' Hot in Diyarbakır

roof links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 29 July 2011)

With the jump in temperatures above normal this summer many people in
southeast Anatolia have moved from their houses to the roof. As a
consequence, in the past two months 497 people have fallen off the roofs.
Dr. Murat Orak of the Emergency Room at Diyarbakır Dicle University
Research Hospital stressed that there's always an increase in roof falls
when the heat rises above normal.

It has been learned that the number or roof falls in May and June of 2010
was 329, whereas the number for the same period this year has risen to
497. Experts pointed out that if measures are not taken the number of these
incidents will rise each year and they warned family members to take the
necessary precautions.

According to Dr. Orak, 'migration, increased housing and socio-economic
reasons have caused the increase in roof falls. This is because the heavy
influx of migrants has meant more houses in the suburbs, most of which
don't have fences around the roofs. This has unavoidably lead to roof falls,
which generally occur toward morning and when people get up to relieve
themselves. Most of those who fall off the roofs are children between the
ages of 9 and 13.'