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Qaaolchoura · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:28 am Post subject: Old men with scales

OK, this has been driving me crazy. In the tourist parts of Fatih, you see a lot of old men with scales. I don't see them anywhere else in Istanbul, but I do see unchaperoned scales in supermarkets. What's the deal?

Thanks,
~Q

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:22 pm Post subject:

You pay them a little to see what your weight is. It is a way of begging honourably, and it fits in with the local obsession about knowing your weight.

Qaaolchoura · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:04 pm Post subject:

OK, that raises another issue I've had: I'm not really sure if I should give them something. Is begging here like in the United States, where begging isn't necessary but is good money? Like India, where it's a religious thing? (All the women have that not-quite-a-niqab thing. And while ostentious displays of piety really bother me, I know that in some countries widows are extremely disadvantaged, though I thought that was Hindu and Buddhist societies, not Turkey.) Or do they really have no other acceptable choices?

And what about the children? I've been kind of bothered by the children I see begging, especially in the middle of the day when they might have school; I have been tempted to give them money, except that I'm worried their parents might be exploiting them.

Also, except for the aforementioned children who play those little plastic flutes, I just realized I haven't seen anything resembling buskers/street performers. Not that I'm complaining; some of the buskers where I'm from are quite bad. Is this a cultural thing? Is the government less tolerant than they would be of simple beggars?

~Q

_smaug · Joined: 08 Sep 2010 Posts: 92

I saw a kid with a scale . . .

What about the guys walking around with those metal octopus things stuck on their heads; are they, like, channeling cosmic energy into their brains or something?

What�s up with that?

cartago · Joined: 19 Oct 2005 Posts: 283 Location: Iraq

I've just seen little kids with scales, I'm in Eastern Turkey. I thought it was kind of funny, I mean how many people just decide to get themselves weighed while walking around? Maybe more than I realize. I've noticed women who beg typically wear niqab here too. In Erzurum I saw a woman begging who was wearing a full burqa.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:41 pm Post subject:

Dear Qaaolchoura

Unless things have changed hugely since my days in Turkey (happy republic day, by the way) then you'd be best served keeping your distance from the street urchins totally. Don't give any of them money: they'll all swarm around you and probably grab on to your legs or some such tactic. They can be quite dangerous too. Carry knives and what-not.

Do not engage at all. And don't speak English to them if they hassle you. Just a Turkish nose-in-the-air 'tut', possibly followed by a 'cok ayip' if needs be.

Sasha

gloomyGumi · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 353

Sashadroogie · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:16 am Post subject:

Fair enough. But bear in mind street boys have killed off-duty soldiers. Remember that story about the Turkish SAS equivalent squaddie who was stabbed to death in Taksim about 6 or 7 years ago. He was tough too, but few decent men would want to punch an urchin in the face, no matter how strong they are. If you are a little tipsy, or confused, when the street children crowd around you God knows what may occur. And seeing as few of them have anything to really live for beyond sniffing glue or thinners, they have nothing to lose either, so they aren't afraid.

The average TEFLer/foreigner has a lot more to lose in any confrontation. So, best to keep serious distance from them...

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:52 am Post subject:

Yeah, nuke the little gits!

billy orr · Joined: 15 Jul 2009 Posts: 229

I don't know about the kids, but those old men with scales sound really scary. Are they like snakes or dragons?

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:01 pm Post subject: