Recharging One's Career With Bad Publicity

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 21 January 2015)


But we all know there's no such thing as 'bad' publicity.

In Amasya, a person wearing a green turban and a 'cuppe'
(a long robe worn by imams) was seen by local people
as he walked around town.  Thinking the man was a
'meczup' (a dervish who has been completely carried away by
a mystical experience), citizens called the police.

The supposed 'meczup' was quickly taken into custody and
brought to the police station. It turned out that the 'meczup'
was one-time famous model and film star Yasar Alptekin,
who had come to Amasya to shoot a film.  The outfit he was
wearing was necessary for the role he was playing.

Explaining further, Alptekin said that "I dressed like this
for the horror film we're shooting here.  I play an imam
who dispells evil spirits in the film."  He wore a t-shirt
with the message "5 VKTNMZ" on it, similar to the play
put on by (famous Turkish comedian) Cem Yilmaz:
'CMYLMZ'.  Alptekin said that "I've been wearing this
t-shirt for three years to get people to remember to pray
five times each day."


              Amasya province.

Sports Edition: Goal Killer; Short-Leg Jouster

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 20 January 2015)


     Early exit to the locker room, with an escort.

In Igdir, Abdulriza Dag (36) was involved in a fight in 2005,
was tried for wrongful death and sentenced to 6 years 3 months
in prison.  Two years after he went to jail, though, Dag managed
to escape.

The Gendarmerie got word that Dag would be playing in a
soccer match in Erhaci village so some of the soldiers dressed
in sports clothes and waited on the sidelines.  As soon as Dag took
the field at the friendly match between Lower Erhaci and Upper
Erhaci villages, he was taken into custody by the Gendarmerie.


Upper and Lower Erhaci villages are just south of Igdir city.

============================================

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 20 January 2015)


           Short on legs, long on speed.

The Turkish Traditional Sports Branches Federation is searching
villages, districts and towns to find the Hinis "Short Leg" horse.
The horse's forelegs are shorter than the back legs, allowing this
horse to run faster than others.

Federation President Prof. Dr. Alparslan Ceylan said that "we're
looking for this breed of horse but so far we haven't found any.
We've formed a research team that is  looking in Iran, Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Ukraine for these horses. Perhaps they were taken
abroad from this region may years ago.  'Cirit' (sort of like jousting)
was played only with these horses. In their place, Arab and English
horses have been used.  We're looking everywhere so that the "Short
Leg" Hinis horse can reclaim its rightful place."

President Ceylan added that people who have horses like this stand
to make a bundle of money: "There are some businessmen who love
'cirit' and are ready to pay big money to someone who finds this
horse.'  The 15-person team looking for the breed includes Prof. Dr.
Ziya Gokalp Ceylan, chief of Ataturk University's Food Hygiene
and Technology faculty, researchers, horse traders and people
characterized as "cambaz" (can mean acrobat, horse dealer,
swindler (!)).  


Hinis district is southernmost of Erzurum's districts.

Real Estate Edition: History For Sale

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 19 January 2015)


                 Altar boys not included.

An historic Greek church in Melikgazi, Kayseri, has been put up
for sale, along with the lands on which it sits, by the owner, Omer
Sicimoglu. He put an ad on the website 'sahibinden.com' in order
to generate interest in the sale of the church.

Sicimoglu said that "the Kayseri municipality wanted to buy it but
then they lost interest. So we decided to put it up for sale. There's a
2,000 square meter plot of land and it is listed as a church in
development plans (of the municipality).  We're asking 400-450K
euros but we'll consider other proposals.


Melikgazi is 75 kilometers east of Kayseri city.

============================================
turkce  links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 19 January 2015)


          "I'll throw in the tree for free."

In Bodrum, Mugla province, 5 siblings put Bargilya Antique
City, which their father left to them, up for sale.  The Ucpinar
siblings are asking 22 million TL ($10M) for the 330,000
square meter plot of land that fronts on Kus Cennet Lake.

However, because the land is on a First Degree SIT (protected)
site and cannot be built on, there have been no offers. According
to Huseyin Ucpinar (86), "my father bought the land from the
Treasury in 1927.  But we're not allowed to do anything with it.
The state offered a swap of three 150 donum (about 40 acres)
plots but that deal fell through.  We're stuck with the land and
can't do anything with it."



In the sale announcement on a real estate website, it was stated
that there are many archeological remnants in the antique city,
which dates back to the fifth century B.C., but no excavations
have yet been conducted.


      Bodrum is in Mugla's far west.

News of Her Death Was Premature

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 18 January 2015)


     Hayriye hanim still has a lotta livin' to do!

In Umraniye, Istanbul, taxi driver Eyyup M. (49), the father of
two children, was at odds with Hayriye A. (43) so he called the
imam at the local mosque in their neighborhood in Cekmekoy
and, identifying himself as 'Hasan", said the following: "Hayriye
A., the wife of Ilyas A. of Ordu, has passed away. The deceased's
body will be taken away after noon prayers."

Eyyup M. asked the imam to say 'sala' prayers so that the
neighborhood residents would be aware of her death and he noted
that because he was busy with the arrangements for the funeral he
could not come to the mosque himself.  Imam S.K. then read the
prayers related to Hayriye A.'s 'death' over the mosque loudspeaker.

Hayriye A. was understandably shocked to hear of her own death
and went straight to the police to file a complaint.  She took the
announcement of her 'death' as a death threat and added that "I
suspect Eyyup M. of perpetrating this because he has previously
threatened me.  In 2011 I filed a complaint and a suit against him.
When the threats continued, I again filed a complaint on 26 July
2012."

Eyyup M. confessed to the accusations and has been indicted for the
crime of 'disturbing peace of mind', which carries a jail term of
from 3 months to a year. In his own words, Eyyup M. said that
"I was friends with the complainant Hayriye A. for two years
after 2008.  Because of some enmity between us, I called the imam
in her neighborhood and asked him to say prayers in connection
with Hayriye A.'s death.  I did this because for me she has died.
It was a momentary act of anger on my part."

Imam S.K., who said he was duped, explained that "after I said
the prayers, a relative of Hayriye A.'s came and I learned that
she had not died.  I trusted the person who called me and did
my duty."


            Umraniye district of Istanbul.

Role Reversal: Man As Dog's Best Friend

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Hurriyet Newspaper, 17 January 2015)

 "It's about time you guys saved one of us for a change..."

On Uludag Mountain, in Bursa province, vacationers skiing at
Tutyeli peak (2,045 meters high) heard the moans of a dog
trapped in the snow and called the Gendarmerie.  A 7-man
team of 'Snow Tigers' from the Gendarmerie Search and
Rescue (JAK) unit responded on 5 ski mobiles.


       'Garip' in team photo with rescuers.

The team searched two forested areas near the Tutyeli ski slope
for half an hour and reached the nearly-frozen pooch. They first
gave the dog milk and then brought it down to the hotel area
for a proper meal.  The soldiers named the dog 'Garip' (peculiar)
and said they will care for it if the owner doesn't surface.


            Uludag Mt.: the red spot.

Lucky Lotto Chair Hung as Last Resort

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 16 January 2015)


Coffeehouse owner's wisdom keeps peace among patrons.

Halit Abak (54) of Soke district, Aydin province, was one of
the four big winners in the National Lottery drawing on New
Year's Eve and he learned about his good fortune when he
went to his usual coffeehouse.

Levent Ince, a waiter there,  explained that "Halit came to the
coffeehouse on the morning of 1 January. He took out his ticket
and asked me for help. Together we looked at the newspaper
and I told him that he was a big winner. He was in shock.  I
thought he would buy everyone tea but instead he just went
home with his ticket.  When he does come back to the coffeehouse
we want him to buy us all tea."

The chair the new millionaire, who is a truck driver, last sat in
at the coffeehouse has taken on new value.  Patrons competed
to sit in it and so the establishment's owner Hasan Canitezer
took extreme measures: "we have wrapped white tape around the
legs of the chair that Halit Abak sat down in and then rose up
from as a millionaire.  We've separated it from the rest of the chairs
because everyone was fighting over who would sit in it. We've
taken this lucky chair out of circulation and hung on the wall."

As for Halit Abak, he has bought a house for 280,000 TL ($140K)
and purchased a 130,000 luxury car for his son Tahir Abak.
One of Abak's friends at the coffeehouse, Yilmaz Serbest, said
that "he's a modest guy who never argues with anyone. The big
payoff he's won won't change him."


Soke district is in western Aydin province.

"Kirzbekistan": A Nation Born of a Typo

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 15 January 2015)


                 Kirzbekistan Welcomes You!

A typo in the New York Times resulted in mixing up the names
of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to create "Kirzbekistan", and
spawned a phenomenon in social media.  The imagined country
then began to take on a life of its own.

An article in the paper about climber Tommy Caldwell related his
experiences in Kyrgyzistan but spelled it as "Kirzbekistan".  The
typo was corrected the following day but before the correction a
Twitter account was opened for Kirzbekistan and attracted  2,500
followers in a short time.  The jokes then started coming non-stop.

There was a cry for Kirzbekistan to participate in the 2015 Eurovision
contest and a call for the Kirzbek people to rise up in resistance. It
wasn't long before Kirzbekistan appeared on the website
"nationstates.net", where internet users can make up countries and
give them flags, currency and national anthems.

The flags of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were combined to make a
flag for Kirzbekistan, whose slogan became "We're here".  The
form of government was listed as "authoritarian democracy" and
Kirzbekistan's population was pegged at 12 million. The general
comment about the new nation: "Other than having the right to vote,
Kirzbeks have been deprived of just about everything else."


How do you get there? As Capt. Kirk once said: "Thata way"