Have you had an amusing experience in NC

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 12:39

Many years ago whilst staying in Ambelia the Civil Service did an excercise. They put a leaflet at everydoor in the Bellapais area telling them to put blackout curtains at all windows, put gas bottles outside the property and do not use cars unless urgent. If this was necessary then coloured jellies had to be put on headlights.Also listen to Radio Bayrac for updated information. Finally at the bottom of the leaflet it stated " Failure to comply with these regulations will mean being interfered with by the police" Needless to say, we did as we were told and were not lucky enough to be interfered with!!

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 13:13

we drove into the army base by mistake.

hubby took a short cut, ended up down a dirt tract, came to a cross roads but at each end was a soldier on a gate.

had to find passports and explain in our best turkish that we were english idiots and had driven in by mistake.

the guy looked at the passports, took our car reg, smiled and let us out.



i think they had probably been watching us drive around lost for a while,lol.



another time we were invited for coffee, we went to the house and asked for osman.

taken inside and sat in the kitchen with granny making dolma and then the lady of the house came in and carefully told us osman had died 6 months ago!

we were only out with him the night before!!

we had to explain we were in the wrong house! wrong osman!!!!!!!!!!!

we have never felt so bad or so stupid.

nurseawful



Joined: 06/02/2009
Posts: 5934

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 13:25

When we first moved here somebody told us to go to the butchers at Guzelyurt. So with direction we eventually found it it was in a covered kind of market place not very nice. But we thought we have came all this way so better buy something. Hubby asks for lamb chops oops butcher speaks no English! What to do Hubby makes noise like a sheep hey presto lamb chops, for mince he shreds a tissue and makes the noise of a cow. hey presto mince. Next we dared him to ask for a bone for the dog so he barked. All of a sudden the butcher spoke English "you want to eat a dog" By this time the tears were rolling down our faces.

He called a halt though when we asked him to ask for a turnip!

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 13:25

A friend and i once accidently drove into a diplomatic's driveway in the past, to be confronted with about 20 armed guards with automatic guns pointed at us ...i've never s***t myself so much in my life...fortunately, they saw the funny side, and just waved us along....in hindsight it was funny, but at the time, it was definately not funny!!



DD

Dusterbruce


Joined: 03/08/2007
Posts: 1125

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 13:37

In the early 1980's a friend's visiting mother wanted to make a Christmas cake. Many things were either unavailable or difficult to get in those early days of the TRNC. Going 'south' was not an option. The lady managed to assemble all the ingredients apart from ground almonds. In desparation she visited a cake shop that used to be at the top of the main street in Kyrenia. The language barrier proved to be a problem until someone produced a pen and piece of paper and she worte down 'ground almonds'. The cake shop proprietor read the words and said yes, yes, tomorrow.



On calling in the shop the day after for the expected bag of the final ingredient she was presented with a beautiful cake that said 'Happy Birthday Ground Almonds'

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 13:41

Just remembered another time when we were in a small shop in the old Turkish quarter. The lovely old lady did not speak English but was very helpful. We wanted some eggs and I made the sound of a chicken. She smiled and went into the back room and came out with a toilet roll. We nearly needed it because we laughed so much.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 13:43

its nice to see hubby and i are not the only fools in the trnc.

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
06/06/2009 23:22

When I came to teach in N.C in 1999 the driver who took me to

Salamis where I had chosen to stay, stopped to get "condoms"

from a wee shop! I wondered what I had come to, when he

emerged with candles (in case of power strike of course) I didn't

like to tell him of his mistaken English! Needless to say there was

a cut as we got to the ground floor and he had to carry my suitcases

up 3 flites. Happy days!

Lemtich



Joined: 15/02/2007
Posts: 1487

Message Posted:
07/06/2009 00:29

My wifw and I went to Famugusta and had a look at the ruined hotels at Varoosha, stupidly I took some photographs.



20 minutes later the police turned up and demanded to see the digital camera, so my wife showed them the photographs I had taken, in the process deleting them, including those of her topless by the pool.



The police checked our passports, laughed, and let us go.



Needless to say, it was a rather tense, silent drive, back to Kyrenia from Famagusta.



Lem

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
07/06/2009 05:07

Too many to mention

Simbas

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
07/06/2009 14:35

msg 9. That reminds me of the time we set of to go to the Karpas with some friends who were visiting NC for the first time. We were driving slowly along this very, very bumpy potholed road when 2 soldiers with guns stepped out in front of us. We tried to explain where we were going and that we were lost. Eventually we had the bright idea of getting the map out. These were Turkish soldiers and unfortunately, our friend had bought a greek map, which nobody understood. They kept pointing the guns at us and our 2 children thought we were going to be shot. It certainly caused a stir.

beno12



Joined: 03/04/2009
Posts: 124

Message Posted:
07/06/2009 23:11

An driving over the boarder crossing last june at famagusta stopping to get insurance as we hired a car at Larnaca Airport, going into the insurance container was the guy who sells the insurance + the custom officer we signed all the papers payed then to are surprise was offered a few glasses of" WHISKY" cool... the wife waiting & waiting outside we nearly on are way after ca 30 min loving this boarder crossing ..half on are way... walked back to the car " wife asking , why? it took so long .. we repyling oooooooo great welcome, starting the car which was a small Fiat said to each other," now the other customs officers are going to get you for drink driving ooo just as we neared the boarder poll the officer jumped-up from his chair stopped us asked to open the boot where he discovered a small garden table we just managed to fit into the small boot(no room for anything else) and asked wheres the chairs... we looked at each other and nearly cracked out laughing . Great Crossing.

beno12



Joined: 03/04/2009
Posts: 124

Message Posted:
07/06/2009 23:25

Thats N.C.................

Agnes


Joined: 11/04/2009
Posts: 81

Message Posted:
08/06/2009 00:53

msg no 8

A teacher of English should be able to spell flights.

ilovekibris


Joined: 18/05/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
08/06/2009 01:00

Agnes,

I think this area has been addressed before. Teaching abroad is sometimes the best option. ;)