"Bark & Release": Dogs as Man's Worst Friends, and as Woman's Best Friends, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 4 April 2026)

                                "Let's talk this over."

The incident occurred in a private residential complex in the Yeni 

Çamlıca neighborhood of Ataşehir. Stray dogs, roaming in groups, 

attacked residents, causing fear. The stray dogs attacked several 

people at different times in the same location. Those attacked escaped 

by climbing onto a parked car. The incident was captured on security 

camera footage. 

Özgür Saraç, a resident whose car's roof was crushed by

fleeing people, stated that he regularly fed the dogs and that they 

wouldn't attack anyone they didn't suspect (!). “Twice in a month, 

friends who are afraid of dogs climbed onto my car. It wouldn't 

occur to anyone to climb on top of a car, but we don't  know how 

they came up with that idea. 

Our dogs lie down calmly and rarely attack anyone (!). We have been 

with these animals for 8 years. It is very rare for the dogs to attack; 

they probably sensed something. Let's not call it an attack; they just 

bark, we have never witnessed them biting.”

*************************************************************

türkçe  links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 2 April 2026)

                   Feeding them all! Looks expensive.

Neighbors reported that they could not reach Gülcihan Mutlu (65), who 

lives with her 13 dogs (!) in Avcılar. Health and police teams who came to 

the building were also unable to reach Gülcihan hanım, so the door of her 

apartment was broken down. Waking up to the noises, Gülcihan hanım

reacted to the teams by saying, "What's happening?" After the door was 

broken down, her neighbors and relatives breathed a sigh of relief when 

they saw that Mutlu was alive.

The incident occurred in a building in the Cihangir neighborhood of Avcılar. 

Friends and neighbors of Gülcihan hanım, who lived in the apartment 

building, repeatedly knocked on her door after being unable to reach her. 

Relatives who tried to contact her by phone but received no answer then 

called 112 (emergency services). Police officers from the Avcılar Police 

Department, along with firefighters and paramedics, arrived at the scene 

and repeatedly knocked on her apartment door. Concerned for her 

safety, it was decided to break down the apartment door to reach Gülcihan

hanım.

Sound sleeper during 13-dog night.

The door was broken open by firefighters. Waking up to the noise, Gülcihan 

hanım reacted to the officers by saying, "What's happening?" The officers 

who entered explained the situation to Mutlu, saying, "We were worried 

about your life." Meanwhile, Mutlu's neighbor informed the officers, 

"She was asleep, there's nothing to worry about." Other neighbors who 

arrived at the door said, "You scared us, we've been trying to reach you 

for hours." Neighbors who entered the apartment tried to help her.

Waking up to the noises as the teams entered, she said, "I was very 

tired and sleep-deprived. I wasn't scared, but I couldn't understand why 

the door was being knocked on." The police officer told Gülcihan hanım, 

"In these kinds of situations, if neighbors or relatives can't get in touch, 

we have to break down the door." She replied to the police, "I'm sorry.

I was so sleep-deprived that I dozed off," and then thanked the police

teams.

"Meet & Release": Little Chinese Boy's Fluent English Shocks Turkish Tourist, in Xi'an

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 9 April 2026)

                         A viral lingua franca incident.

An English conversation involving a  little Chinese boy and a foreign

tourist went viral on social media. The little boy asked the tourist

where he was from and when the tourist responded "We're Turks" 

the boy praised Turkish ice cream (!).  The boy said his mother had

taught him English.

Prof. Abdullah Sayıner, the Turkish tourist, returned to Izmir on Monday. 

Dr. Sayıner told Hürriyet about the video that made him instantly famous 

on social media: "We went on a tour with a group of friends from medical 

school. We went to see the works known as Terracotta Soldiers in Xi'an, 

China. While we were resting after dinner, that little boy came and said, '

I want to talk to you' in very clear English, and I was very happy. He was 

a very sweet, very sympathetic child. I even noticed in the photos that he 

had a camera. I was very surprised that it spread so quickly." 

"Messages are coming from many parts of the world, from Pakistan, 

Canada, America and Paraguay. Frankly, it doesn't seem like such an 

exaggeration to me, but it means that people miss these relations. This 

is a sad thing for the world. If an ordinary meeting attracts so much 

attention, it means that people do not come across this in their daily lives."

"Sneak & Release": Empty Seats on Bus Tip Police to Search Baggage Compartment for Illegal Migrants, in Yozgat

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Cumhuriyet Newspaper, 8 April 2026) 

               "The price was right for luggage class."

In Yozgat, police teams determined that two vehicles and a passenger bus 

suspected of being used for migrant smuggling would be traveling from 

Yozgat to various provinces.

Teams stopped the suspicious vehicles and a passenger bus with empty 

seats (!) at a police checkpoint at the city entrance.  During the search, 

they found 53 irregular migrants: 41 in the luggage compartment and 

12 in the driver's sleeping area of ​​the passenger bus.

Y.K, Y.Ç, M.Y, Y.K, B.Y, and R.Y were detained on charges of migrant 

smuggling.  Following their procedures at the police station, the 6 suspects, 

who were referred to the courthouse on charges of being "organizers," 

were arrested by the judge.

The illegal migrants were sent to the Provincial Directorate of Migration 

Management to be deported after their procedures were completed.

"Empty" buses. Hmmmmmmmm.

Yozgat needs more people to fill all that empty space!

"Fleece & Release": Free Samples Obtained From Duped Merchants Sold Elsewhere by Fraudster, in Adana and Karaman

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 7 April 2026)

 

                                          "What?"

Hasan Ali K. (45), who was found to have defrauded people by 

introducing himself as the owner of a restaurant and baklava 

company and selling the products he obtained from them on his 

mobile stall, was caught red-handed in Karaman. In his statement, 

the suspect said, "I don't eat 'haram' (unlawful) food, I earn honestly. 

I didn't commit fraud." He was (nevertheless!) arrested.

Hasan Ali K., a street vendor in Adana's Seyhan district, called 

Hamdullah Ç. (30), a dried fruit seller, and introduced himself as 

the owner of a well-known baklava company. He said he would buy 

3 tons of walnuts and asked him to send 10 kilograms of sample 

product beforehand. Hamdullah Ç. sent the walnuts to the specified 

address. 

After a while, learning that Hamdullah Ç. had gone to Kastamonu 

to get the walnuts, the suspect then ordered 100 kilograms of garlic 

for his supposed restaurant in Istanbul. Believing this offer 

as well, Hamdullah Ç. sent the garlic but did not receive payment. 

Realizing he had been defrauded, Hamdullah Ç. went to the Provincial 

Police Department and filed a complaint.

Hasan Ali got an early start.

Teams from the Fraud Bureau of the Public Security Branch Directorate 

determined that the suspect, whose identity they had established, had 

defrauded eight other people using the same method. The investigation 

revealed that Hasan Ali K. was selling figs, olive oil, sunflower seeds, 

walnuts, pistachios, almonds, hard candy, flatbreads, and towels 

obtained from the victims at a mobile stall. Following these findings, 

police launched an operation to apprehend the suspect and determined 

that Hasan Ali K. had gone to Karaman. Police caught him while he 

was selling towels. (!)

Hasan Ali K., who was taken to the police station, was found to have 

10 previous records for fraud. In his statement, the suspect said, 

"I don't eat 'haram' (unlawful) food, I earn halal (lawful) money. I pray 

five times a day and fast. I didn't commit fraud as alleged." After the 

proceedings, Hasan Ali K. was referred to the courthouse and 

subsequently arrested by the court.

"Nuclear Release": Energetic Shopkeeper Changes His Official Name to "Atom", in Rize

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 6 April 2026)

                Anymore, he's officially radioactive.

Seyfullah Gökyıldız (48), a tradesman in Rize, changed his nickname 

'Atom', which his friends gave him and which became synonymous with 

him, to his official name by court order. Regarding his new identity, 

Gökyıldız said, "I was Seyfullah for 48 years, from now on I will 

continue my life as Atom. This name gives me a lot of self-confidence; 

I feel stronger."

Gökyıldız attracted attention with his energetic personality and became 

known as "Atom" among his friends and on social media. His constant 

response to "How are you?" with "I'm like an atom" led him to adopt the 

nickname "Atom," and he decided to change his official name. After 

researching and discovering that no one else had the name "Atom," 

Gökyıldız applied to the court to change his name. Following the 

completion of the legal process, Gökyıldız's name officially became "Atom." 

He updated all his official documents, from his driver's license to his 

property deeds, with his new name, and those who hear his name, 

especially in institutions, are often surprised.

There is, though, a namesake...

Describing the process of his nickname turning into his name, Atom 

Gökyıldız said, "Besides my close circle, my friends on social media 

also call me 'Atom'. Then it got serious. I said, 'The name Atom is very 

nice.' I did some research. and  I couldn't find the name Atom anywhere 

in the world. The state also has the right to change names, so I took it to 

court. And so we changed our name to Atom. When my friends saw me 

on the street and asked, 'How are you?', I would always say, 'I'm like an 

atom.' So it's something that has become synonymous with me. I really 

liked the name, and when I realized that there was no one else like it in 

the world, we decided to change it like that. There's Atom toast, there's 

Atom juice, but I haven't come across Atom as a name. According to my

own research, I'm unique in the world."

Gökyıldız, stating that he renewed all his official documents after the 

name change, said, "Everything official on my record has changed. 

From my driver's license to my ID card, bank cards, even property deeds, 

everything is changing. Because you're reborn. This name gives me a 

huge boost of self-confidence. I feel stronger. For 48 years I was 

Seyfullah, from now on I will continue my life as Atom. It was my 

nickname, something that was synonymous with me. I didn't feel like 

a stranger when I changed my name."

"Rise & Release": TNT Easter Edition - Messiah Appears ! - in Karabük

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Haberler.com, 5 April 2026

 

                           Souvenir store in the back.

In Karabük, various writings such as "Prophet," "66," "Messiah," "Jesus," 

and "35," which a 61-year-old man claiming to be the "Messiah" had 

written on the roof of his house and the fence in front of it, were removed 

under the supervision of police and municipal enforcement teams.

According to the information obtained, after citizens reported seeing 

various writings such as "Prophet", "66", "Messiah", "Jesus" and "35" 

written on the roof and surroundings of the house of M.D. (61) in Bayır, 

Bağlar Street, police and municipal teams were dispatched to the scene. 

The teams asked the homeowner, M.D., to remove the writings. After 

the man reacted negatively, the writings were removed with the help of 

paint.

Looks the part, anyway.

M.D. claimed that he received a divine revelation. He alleged that his 

family was placed under surveillance following an incident he claimed 

occurred in the İspir district of Erzurum, and stated that he had no 

connection to any of the well-known figures in the public eye.

M.D., who claimed that there were no complaints from citizens and 

that some people congratulated him, said that he was preaching to people, 

that his call for "jihad" did not carry a violent meaning, and that the 

greatest is the one waged with the pen and words.

M.D. stated that he felt surrounded by his family from a young age, 

and claimed that his messianic claim became definitive approximately 

5 to 8 years ago. M.D. asserted that people of different religions were 

"waiting for Jesus Christ" and that he was that person.

Not to be confused with the real Messi-ah.

Now known as "New Jerusalem"

"Rob & Release": Thief Stole TIR, Drove It to Ex-Girlfriend's House and Purloined Her Lap-top, in Bolu

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 1 April 2026)

                 A.G. does his heists with a flourish!

A.G. (30)  stole a parked TIR (tractor-trailer) in Bolu and then drove it  

to his ex-girlfriend's house, where he pilfered her laptop. (!)

The incident occurred on the evening of March 21 in the Köroğlu 

neighborhood of Bolu. A parked truck was stolen in the neighborhood,

prompting a police investigation.  

The stolen truck was found by the police in the Sümer neighborhood. 

Police teams reviewed 200 hours of security camera footage and identified 

the suspect as A.G. After days of investigation, the suspect was 

apprehended at his home in the Akpınar neighborhood. It was revealed 

that the suspect had driven the stolen truck to his ex-girlfriend's house 

and stolen a laptop from there (!). After completing the necessary 

procedures at the police station, A.G. was referred to the courthouse.

The question arises...what's on that lap-top!?