This is just a word of warning to anyone who sees a shoe shine man in either the Fener District or Taksim Square. They have a trick to engage you in conversation. They will walk towards you and then accidentally on purpose their brush will fall close to you. Your natural reaction will be to pick it up or indicate they have dropped something. Do not do either of these things as they will try to start cleaning your shoes when you stop despite your remonstrations. They will say they have a poor family in Anatolia and demand 18 Turkish Lira, an astronomical amount. Walk away from the situation or better still leave the brush on the ground.
Julian has written articles on Middle Eastern and European architecture for the US magazine Skipping Stones. He has written travel articles that were published in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Fate Magazine, National Catholic Register, and Northwest Travel. Julian has also written articles for the In The Know Traveler, Go Nomad, InTravelmag, and Go World Travel websites. He has also taken many photographs that have appeared in travel guides by National Geographic, Thomas Cook and The Rough Guides. Examples of his work can be found at http://www.photographersdirect.com/sellers/details.asp?portfolio=13734
That’s a great piece of advise, Julian. Thanks for sharing. We tend to write all the positive things about travel, but a gooid travel advisory is just as important.