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Turkish Delights True personal experiences of travellers to Turkey Cussin' in the Rain My husband and I have lived in Turkey for two years now and we plan to stay for a few more. Our home is in Incirlik Village, Adana -- and a lot of interesting cultural differences have popped up since we first arrived. I remember one, the first month... We are in downtown Adana. It starts raining, so my husband leaves to run and get the car. I decide to sit down under an overhang -- on steps leading to an ancient mosque. A few seconds later an old beggar woman appears and sits down a step above me, and spreads out her scarf. Not long after, the Call to Prayer is sounded, and with that, men start entering the mosque -- and, as they pass, they begin putting money down on my skirt! Surprised, I try to discourage them, and tell them, "Yok, ağbey" (No, big brother)... They look at me, puzzled for a moment. Then one man says, "Tamam" (All right), and he leads the rest...in pulling out more money! At this point, I start in with the hand signals of a tourist and try again. "Yok, ağbey, yok! " and then I point to the beggar woman -- who really seems to need their charity. They light up in understanding, say "Taman," once again -- and start giving her money, very generously. Ahh, I say to myself..."Success!" In naive hopes of a final success, I now try to give them back the money they've already given me. Doesn't work. It actually upsets them. There's a commotion that doesn't seem to be leading anywhere. So against government policy , I stand up and say, "Ben Amerikalıyum. Ben fakir değilim, inan." (I'm American. I'm not poor, believe me.) This, finally, gets their attention. And upsets them even more. Especially the old beggar woman who is telling me to, "Sus!" (Keep quiet). She, by the way, has been making out quite nicely, until I have opened my mouth once too often! Then, out of thin air, a man appears -- sternly speaking (enough) English to tell me that I shouldn't be sitting there. He points for me to move over there... into the pouring rain. The warm dry place I'm sitting in is only for the beggars!! Fortunately, just in the nick of time, hubby arrives with the car -- I jump in, he hits the gas, and we escape in a cloud of wet spray... Ah the joys of living in a new country! And rainy days in Adana will always hold a special memory for me... RI (May '98)