Job Discussion Forums

thrifty · Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 1665 Location: chip van

[quote="TeachEnglish" But luckily for most of us, we can leave when we want to..[/quote]

You won`t be saying that in a few years time.

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

TeachEnglish · Joined: 09 Feb 2005 Posts: 239

No... not my apartment was stollen.. some peoples' aparment building fell while they were sleeping.. what's your problem.. don't you watch the telly anymore? Rolling Eyes

Some people do have a real cavalier attitude about the crime here. I once met a new teacher and tried to warn him about the crime i.e. muggings like purse snatching, phone snatching..etc.. and he said, Oh I am not worried, I'm a Brit, I can handle it. Wink

I said, ok.. good for you. Well it wasn't but maybe 2 weeks later he had been mugged twice and in his own neighborhood..hehe..

Take your personal safety and security of your belongings seriously. It can happen to anyone at anytime. But in my case, most of the crime I have been a victim of here, was when I was drunk.. Laughing

So I stopped drinking when I go out alone.. but when I am with a group.. I drink like a fish because I know I am safe and my friends will carry me home.. Laughing

runeman · Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 124

I was mugged last summer.

I'd missed the last ferry from Karakoy to Kadikoy, so I decided to go to Besiktas to get one from there. The traffic was quite busy along the road but people on the pavement were few and far between, until I saw a group of about five big young men coming towards me.

As our paths crossed one of them asked me the time. Without stopping I looked at my watch and told him, but I suddenly knew I was about to be robbed. The one who had asked loomed at me as the others stopped and waited. I stepped into the road in an attempt to flag down a passing car.

"Merak etme," said my assailant as he yanked the bag I was carrying off my shoulder and then rushed away with his mates down a dark side street. I shouted after them that they'd made a mistake, but I didn't pursue.

A couple of middle aged men came along. I told them what had happened. "Unemployment," they said.

I got off lightly really, apart from a painful elbow from the sudden yank. My money and phone were still in the belt bag I was wearing. In a way I felt sorry for my muggers. All they would find in my shoulder bag, apart from a plastic bottle of water, was a notebook of observations and musings (in English), a paperback translation of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', and a photocopy of George W Bush awarding their prime minister first prize in a dog show!

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

Good thing they got the water-- a friend of mine once had a bottle of water yanked from her hand as she was drinking it...

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:59 pm Post subject:

...er, why? Werent the muggers worried about germs? Or about drinking cold water outside and getting sick and dying?

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:52 pm Post subject:

That was one thing I liked about living in the wonderful world of islamic turkey, deep in the AK party heartland: all those old old ablution taps worked, hadn't been stolen or vandalised, and poured out lovely clean cool water year round. when I moved to Istanbul, I was shocked to find that I couldn't just rock up to one in summer with my empty water bottle to fill it up for free. Bloody secular country ruining my free water supply. Think about the children!

runeman · Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 124

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:38 am Post subject:

Was that in the old TL?

runeman · Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 124