that went under a major Istanbul thoroughfare. As in Eastern Europe, there were a lot of shops in the corridor. What struck my eye, though, was one shop that had a wall full of guns for sale. So I took a picture of it. As we continued walking, I saw three similar small shops within the next 100 yards or so. I'd never seen anything like it in the US or in the other countries I've visited.My Turkish friends tell me that guns aren't hard to purchase, but that there are legal restrictions that limit gun ownership to lawyers, judges, owners of companies worth more that a few million dollars, and other classes of prominent people who might be particularly targeted by criminals.
I don't mean to be skeptical, but I have no reason that I just happened to go by the one place in Istanbul like this. Ilhan didn't even notice or comment on the shops, even after it was clear that they had my full attention. So, it seems likely that there are many more shops like this in the city. Given that, it's hard to believe that these shops could survive catering to such a small clientele.
Who knows? Maybe there are many more millionaires and lawyers in Istanbul than one would imagine....
1 comment:
that's scary
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