Plastic Man is a Dollar Store on wheels.
I have been keeping a list of the many street vendors who have crossed our path in Istanbul. Every day reveals a new category of merchandise. We enjoy the call of the vendors and Rob has chased a few down from our third floor apartment as they passed by. And as to be expected in Istanbul, a few vendors have chased us down. Here are my favorite vendors so far:
The young boys selling ice cold bottles of water from buckets or bags. A street urchin based economy is the truest form of capitalism that exists.
Fresh fruit carts which offer mouthwatering cherries and peaches.
Fresh-boiled corn on the cob. Their carts are like circus popcorn wagons and can be found every 100 feet. Thankfully I’m over that corn allergy. I love corn on the cob.
Two cob a day habit.
Trays of simit (sesame encrusted bread rings) that are stacked into towering pyramids and then carried atop the vendors’ heads.
The onion truck. Forty pound bags of onions for sale from a flatbed truck who announces his approach with a bullhorn. This is probably a wholesale vendor, but I’m sure if we really wanted 40 pounds of onion he would sell them to us.
Plastic man. He pulls and pushes a very large cart of colourful household plastics up and down the cobblestone streets of our neighbourhood all day.
Reading Glasses Man. He doesn’t have a cart or tray. He just carries a few pairs in his hand under a newspaper and flashes them slyly at you as he walks by on the boardwalk. Maybe there is a law against reading glasses or if they are a signal to illegal behaviour, as I cannot figure out why the covertness.
And finally, today’s delicious discovery – the Istanbul burrito man. He set up his cart under our balcony and served up spicy sauced soft flatbread full of lettuce, tomatoes and peppers. Most wonderful food we’ve had so far in Istanbul. (CC)
When in doubt, point and hold out a handful of change.
The Grand Tour 
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