Two small boys tracked the line of workers trimming the palm trees. The men in green jumpsuits were staring up at the man-lift. The boys nodded at each other with tight-lipped smiles and started in motion. The slightly smaller of the boys unfolded the large package in his hand. He took out a gruesome mask–a green and red face, half pig and half monster. The mask had a tuft of black hair at the top. He pulled the rubber mask over his face, despite the August heat, and roared as he approached the first few workers. Large fronds fell around them and most of the men ignored the growling, staring right over the boy’s head at women passing by, or sometimes even glancing at their work. Finally a man near the middle, caught off guard, gave a small leap and a double-take on account of the costumed boy. His friend was delighted! He wanted a high five, but his friend’s mask blocked all peripheral vision and the celebration settled into a fist pump. Though they only came up to the elbows of the men chopping the palm trees, the boys rushed away triumphant, as though they could have done the job without the lift.
–Izmir, Turkey.
Reblogged this on turkischland.
I had a cup of Turkish coffee once at a party with mostly Greeks. It was very thick! Beautiful building above. What is it? It seems small.
The first picture is an Ataturk statue in the İzmir Kültürpark, and the second is the Konak Cami, both in İzmir, Turkey. The coffee can inhibit one’s sleeping patterns, for sure! When I’m here, I stick to instant Nescafe, just to be on the safe side.
How is it that you became interested in those parts of the world (and the others)?
Hmm, trying to remember…
I moved to Austria because I liked their novelists. I went to Bosnia because I had a fantastic student from that country. I came to Turkey for vacation, and opted to return for a lovely young man. Literary/romantic reasons, it seems!
Media reports were that the crowds at Madonna’s concert (where she exposed her breast) in Turkey were that they were enthusiastically wowed. What do you think?
I’m not too sure. I’m not running in “Madonna crowds” in Turkey these days. Several of the big pop artists here are women in their 50s and 60s! Adja Pekkan is 66 and making club music, but I don’t think an act like that would be part of her shows. People respect her voice. The voice really matters.
I just wondered if you had heard anything through the grapevine or newspapers about it. It didn’t ring true for me. I’ve heard and seen some of these big pop artists on programs like 60 minutes. Well, if the voice really matters, then that’s another reason for me not to believe what I read; Madonna never had much of a voice.
If people are going to pay big bucks to see her live, I don’t imagine they can afford to be disappointed.