Living one street off of Istiklal means that I see all sorts of crazies. There was one lesson in school when we listened to “Imagine,” so I took it upon myself to teach the students about hippies and idealistic silly people. I had great fun with this.
Where do hippies live in Istanbul? Taksim!
What kind of shoes do hippies wear? Teacher, they no wear shoes!
Do hippies wash their hair? Teacher, no, no wash hair!
What kind of clothes do hippies wear? Many color clothes teacher! And do hippies wash their clothes? No teacher, dirty clothes!
There are lots of street musicians on Istiklal, and I’ve come to get used to some of them. My favorite guy plays a didgeridoo and shakes some egg thing. He’s cool. There’s also a band with a stand up bass that are pretty cool as well.
But then there’s the crazy singing guy. He’s nuts. I’ve been trying for months to get pictures or video of him, but he can be very elusive. He walks up and down the street at all hours, every day, singing at the top of his lungs. I can hear him from my apartment when he’s nearby. He wears a suit.
See for yourself.
harsh words from a man with one pair of shoes, no hair to wash, and spent his entire semester in Georgia without washing his pants.