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Most Turkish superstitions are uniquely Turkish...
but some are the same as ours!
As you've probably already noted, we feel that it's hard to learn the Turkish language well without knowing a good deal about the Turkish people -- their culture, their traditions, their hopes and dreams. We reckon that you won't be able to exercise (or enjoy) the full potential of the language without learning about the ancient customs that Turks respect, without knowing what makes them happy or sad, without knowing what inspires them to sing, dance, and laugh.
We also believe (as you've probably also noted) that a knowledge of Turkey's celebrities is useful in the language learning process -- providing a (somewhat exaggerated) microcosm that helps all of us Turkish language-learning-strugglers to better understand the rest of the Turkish population.
In this article about Turkish superstitions (hurafeler) you'll be getting 'two for the price of one'. Because...as you learn more about a select group of Turkish celebrities, you'll also gain insight into what makes them and their Turkish audiences tick.
Pop Singer - İzel: She will never take a pair of scissors from the hand of another person -- and she will never give scissors or soap by hand to another person. She believes that if she does so, it will result in an argument between the giver and the taker.
Pop Singer and Talk Show Hostess - Seda Sayan: To ward off evil, she taps her teeth with her finger nails. If she feels especially endangered by an evil presence, she bites the tip of her tongue as a protective measure.
Film and TV Actress - Berna Laçin: When she removes an item of clothing she never lets it turn inside out -- and she immediately straightens, folds, and puts it away in its proper place. Otherwise, she believes, her life will fall into disarray.
Sanat Music Singer and Actress - Bülent Ersoy: She can't stand the thought of the number 13. She won't stay in a hotel room with the number 13, even if it's the Presidential Suite -- and that goes for rooms with numbers whose digits add up to 13, for example 148, 256, 166, etc. And, because of her fear of germs, she tries not to kiss anyone's cheeks upon greeting or bidding them farewell (in the usual Turkish manner)... Generally, she shakes hands in such cases.
Pop Music Singer - Zerrin Özer (who at 45-years of age hopes to represent Turkey in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest): She always starts off to work on her right foot. And, she can't abide anything out of alignment -- always straightening objects which she finds askew. Like Berna Laçin she feels compelled to avoid disorder.
Clothier: Cemil İpekçi's fashion-design for the Miss Globe 2002 Contest won the 'Best Evening Dress Award', leaving behind the worlds most famous -- Versace, Armani, and Christian Dior. But he's as superstitious as any of the aforementioned Turkish artistes -- refusing ever to listen to accounts of anyone's bad dreams and filling his house with nazar boncuklar (blue-bead good-luck charms) to ward off 'the evil eye'.
How many of the superstitions above do you share with these Turkish celebrities and their audiences?
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