A Story of Two Men in Istanbul
While I was visiting Sultanahmet in Istanbul for the second time, I had the experience of meeting two extremely different personalities. One could be called the best while the other could be labeled as the worst. As Sultanahmet is one of the hot tourist destinations in the world, so, one can come across all sorts of people, the good and the bad.
Moving in any tourist place without a guide can be a trying experience for anyone. However, there were a number of tourists and sales people, majority of them being carpet dealers. As I moved alone among a large number of tourists, I was encountered by two Turks, one each at a time, the bad one followed by the good one.
As I was moving towards the Blue Mosque, there was a great rush of tourists all around the place. All of a sudden, a young Turk, probably in 30s came across me. I thought he was a salesman. I started talking with him in Turkish while he preferred to speak in English. When I asked him about his profession, he gave me dirty looks. His behavior offended me and I decided to bid goodbye to this man. However, he went on to say that he was a carpet dealer and invited me to come to his shop.
I simply declined to accompany him and told him out rightly that I was short of time. But he would not let me go off so easily. So, I made a second worst decision of visiting his shop, reiterating myself of his being genuine. Once in, I saw the whole place full of leather jackets and bags. All of a sudden, his cousin hurriedly placed jacket on my shoulders, even without asking me.
I clearly mentioned that I was not at all interested in buying it as I checked the prices of bags amidst continued efforts of the Turk shop owner to allure me with the so called best offers’. I lost my patience when my camera with spilled with water by this man while trying to prove that his leather bags were water proof.
As I hurriedly tried to step out of the shop, I was in for another shock. This time, it was the tip demanded by this Turk. I was assured that this is the heck of the so-called Turk hospitality while I reluctantly parted with 10 lira just to move away from the place.
Thanking almighty, I spent the next two hours with my mind filled with the thoughts of all that had taken place a while ago. A bit dazed, I made up my mind to visit the carpet museum located just along the Blue Mosque. Suddenly, another young Turk approached me warmly and spoke in English saying the museum was closed at present.
Amidst re-assurances, I still had doubts about this second Turk’s genuineness who told me that he was a student in Virginia. A bit hesitatingly, I accepted his offer to eat together. As he brought a delicious meal of bread and vegetable, it was a welcome relief after a stormy and a hectic day.
Ibrahim, the second Turk, was a complete opposite of the first one. He was genuine and soft-spoken. His behavior reassured my mind that there are bad people in the world, no doubt, but the percentage of good people is certainly much more than the bad ones.