Posts Tagged ‘Turkey’

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Serbia In, Germany Out At EuroBasket

September 11, 2011  ·  8:54PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Spain claimed the top spot in Group E with an easy win over France in what should have been a clash of the titans on Day 11 at EuroBasket 2011.

(More on that shortly!)

The day belonged to the crew from Serbia, though, as they claimed something even more important; a spot in the quarterfinals …

Serbia 68, Turkey 67 (Box Score)

Serbia needed this win to secure their ticket to the quarterfinals and to keep their Olympic hopes alive. They also needed an Ersan Ilyasova miss in the final seconds to escape Turkey in a thriller that went down the final tense moments for both teams. It helped that Milos Tedosic finally returned to form, finishing with a game-high 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

This loss is a wicked blow for Turkey, the runner-up (to the U.S. team) at last summer’s World Championships on their home soil. ”We are very sad,” said Turkey coach Orhun Ene. ”We were second at the last World Championship and we had big expectations for this tournament. We didn’t show our potential throughout the tournament. We promised the Turkish people that we would try to qualify for the Olympics for the first time, but we lost too many games. This was our last chance and we lost the game in only one possession.”

They won’t have to search hard to find reasons why didn’t succeed. Making just 55 percent (16-for-29) of your free throws in a game decided by the thinnest of margins is certainly a recipe for disaster. Remember, they made a paltry 45 percent (10-for-22) of their free throws Friday in a six-point loss to Germany. Serbia shot an impressive 81 percent (13-for-16) from the free throw line and also grabbed three more rebounds (38-35) than Turkey.

“This was very tough. Everybody was under pressure as the winner would go to the quarterfinals,” said Serbia’s coach, Dusan Ivkovic. “We controlled the game in the first half but our concentration went down in the second half. We led the game for almost 40 minutes only to allow Turkey to have the last shot. We deserved this victory because we were better on the night.”

Spain 96, France 69 (Box Score)

The top spot in Group E belongs to the defending champions, courtesy of their win over a France team that played without both Tony Parker and Joakim Noah (both given a day of rest). Without two of their biggest stars, France struggled to keep the game close after halftime. Spain used a 27-4 run in the third quarter to blow the game open and then cruised to the finish. The loss ended France’s seven-game win streak.

The difference in approach to this game was interesting, with France easing up and Spain going all out. ”It was a weird game but we wanted to respect our opponent as well as other teams who are playing in this tournament to define the final positions and especially for ourselves, we believe there is nothing better than a good game to improve and get better,” said Spain coach Sergio Scariolo. ”This was our motivation. Everybody gave something. We get to the point with the do-or-die competition starts. We know we start from zero but it’s better to get there in the right way.”

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Gasols Lead Spain Into Quarterfinals

September 9, 2011  ·  5:13PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The three matchups in Group E action Friday at EuroBasket 2011 did not disappoint. Defending champion Spain flexed its muscle yet again, Germany bowed up to the challenge against Turkey and France and Lithuania delivered on the promise of an absolute thriller.

On top of that, spots in the quarterfinals were clinched in the process …

Spain 84, Serbia 59 (Box Score)

Any questions about Pau Gasol‘s complete recovery from his struggles during the NBA playoffs should be clear to anyone watching him in this competition. He joined his younger brother Marc Gasol in punishing Serbia from start to finish as Spain secured its ticket to the quarterfinals in a runaway. Pau finished with 26 points, 15 in the first half, while Marc countered with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

While this wasn’t necessarily a rematch of the 2009 gold medal game, won going away by Spain, it was a reminder for Serbia and every other team in this competition just how powerful Spain can be when they have two healthy Gasols and our main man “The Stockbroker,” Juan Carlos Navarro, clicking along with the rest of a deep and talented roster. Navarro finished with 14 points.

Serbia knocked off Spain in the quarterfinals at last year’s World Championships in Turkey, when Pau Gasol was out injured. It wasn’t even close this time around. ”We played a great game for 40 minutes,” Spain point guard Jose Calderon said. ”We were concentrated from the start. Everybody was ready to help each other. ”We all wanted to stop (Serbia point guard Milos) Teodosic and we did that. It was a great victory. We have to be proud of holding a great team like Serbia to 59 points, but we have to continue to work hard because we have more games to play.”

Two of Spain’s other NBA players, Calderon and Rudy Fernandez, joined the Gasols and Navarro in the starting lineup. Calderon played a turnover-free 20 minutes and finished with eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Fernandez showed off his versatility, with five rebounds, three assists two steals and the play of the game, a wicked first-quarter block of a Milan Macvan layup.

Germany 73, Turkey 67 (Score)

The hero’s cape is usually reserved for Dirk Nowitzki and he did his part, draining four straight free throws to seal this huge, stay-alive win for Germany. But he had company in the fourth quarter of this one. Philipp Schwethelm did his damage from distance, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including three huge 3-pointers.

The win sends Germany into Sunday’s showdown with Lithuania with a chance to advance to the elite eight of this competition, with another gutsy, comeback effort like this one. “We played our worst first half of the summer but we only trailed by a few points at the break,” Schwethelm said. ”In the second half we made big shots and we won.”

Chris Kaman had 20 points and seven rebounds to power Germany inside against a formidable group of big men at work for Turkey. Nowitzki dealt with foul trouble throughout the game but still managed to score 19 points.

Omer Asik and Enes Kanter are the two big men from Turkey we were talking about. And they were rugged in this game. Asik finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds while managed 11 points and three rebounds. They still have a showdown with Serbia on tap this weekend, a game they’ll need their bigs to dominate if they want to win. And Sunday’s game against Serbia is a must-win if Turkey wants into the quarterfinals (they also need Germany to lose

France 73, Lithuania 67 (Box Score)

The best way to avoid the drama of the complex tiebreaker system to advance to the quarterfinals is to stay perfect, which is exactly what France did by outlasting Lithuania before a hostile, host-nation crowd at Vilnius Arena. We haven’t mentioned him before now, but Nando De Colo (you’ve got to love that name) was spectacular. He led France with 21 points, five steals and four rebounds. He scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter to help seal the deal.

Tony Parker came through with another solid effort, scoring 19 points. Joakim Noah‘s work on the glass (game-high 13, six offensive), though, was particularly crucial in such a hostile environment. Noah will have his hands full Sunday when France takes on Spain and the Gasol brothers, so it’s probably a good thing that he is cranking it up now.

With their quarterfinals slot already locked down, Friday’s game was yet another opportunity for France to prove their mettle. “For us, this is our biggest performance in Lithuania,” France coach Vincent Collet said. ”To do it in Vilnius, in front of this crowd means that we are a real team. Nando made very big shots that helped us get back in front.”

After riding a red-hot 3-point shooting performance to victory over Serbia in their last game, when they shot 11-for-20 from distance, Lithuania’s shooters came back to earth against France. They made just seven of their 23 attempts from that range Friday. If not for solid outings from Simas Jasaitis (13 points) and Jonas Valanciunas (12 points), this one might not have stayed as tight as it did down the stretch.

*** The six teams in Group F will back on the court Saturday, starting with Georgia-Finald, F.Y.R. Macedonia-Slovenia and finishing up with Greece-Russia. ***

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Spain, France, Lithuania Win At EuroBasket

September 7, 2011  ·  5:00PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — The second round is under way at EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania with some familiar faces in action and some familiar teams claiming wins …

Spain 77, Germany 68 (Box Score)

You probably know the words to this song by now. Spain wins with huge efforts from both Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol. The defending champions have been doing it like this for a while now and certainly since this EuroBasket competition began. Marc scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed five rebounds while Pau rang up 19 and seven against Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman. Nowitzki matched Pau’s 19 and 7 and Kaman chipped in with 15 and 12.

  • The difference? Spain has the “Stockbroker” — HT‘s main man Juan Carlos Navarro — on its side. Navarro came up with 14 huge points and helped keep Spain in front from start to finish in this second-round opener for both teams.
  • That said, a three-point game (68-65) late was decided by the Gasols, who combined for Spain’s final nine points. Ricky Rubio added a clutch steal late to end the threat from a Germany team that hung tough the entire game. Spain never could blow this game open, the way they had several others during the preliminary round.
  • Rubio finished with five rebounds and four steals in 21 turnover free minutes. His ability to wreak havoc in the passing lanes on the defensive end is impressive. And he rebounds well enough for a player his size. He’s just not a serious scoring threat at this stage of his career, not against foes of the ilk he will find in competitions such as this one and most certainly against the superstar point guards he will see in his rookie season in the NBA.

France 68, Turkey 64 (Box Score)

We didn’t hear much bellyaching about Tony Parker being HT’s MVP of group play and his performance against Turkey today is a perfect example of why. Parker simply changes games in his team’s favor in this competition. And he does over and over again. He got hot hat after halftime, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the third quarter, to crank up his crew. Parker’s free throws in the final seconds, after a crucial five-second call on Turkey on an inbounds play, provided the winning margin.

  • Not all the news was good for France. They’ll have to work without Mickael Gelabale in Friday’s tilt with Lithuania, per coach Vincent Collet. Gelabale sprained an ankle and was lost for the game. That’s a huge blow for France. Gelabale has been one of their most consistent perimeter players in the competition.
  • When Turkey turned to their 2-3 zone late in the third quarter to try to slow Parker and France down, it worked to perfection. That defensive tweak allowed Turkey to get back into the game. They battled back from a 13-point deficit to within a point in the final seconds. Without a consistent 3-point shooting threat on the floor, France struggles to operate. That 4-for-17 shooting from beyond the 3-point line accentuated an ugly shooting performance (35 percent) overall.  ”We relaxed a little bit and they put the zone and we couldn’t make a shots,” Collet said. ”We were scared as the game continued after we missed seven or eight open shots.”
  • Nicolas Batum continued his steady offensive showing in this game, scoring 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting. With Gelabale out Friday his role should expand. They’ll need him to be much more active on the glass as things progress.

Lithuania 100, Serbia 90 (Box Score)

The host nation team worked Serbia from both sides, the old and the new, in a rousing win to cap Wednesday’s action. Sarunas Jasikevicius, 35, showed off his playmaking skills, finishing with 14 points and seven assists, while 19-year-old big man Jonas Valanciunas was dominant, making eight of his nine shots from the floor and finishing with 18 points. Valanciunas has been a revelation for us here at the hideout. Aside from his pre-Draft hype, the Raptors’ pick was pretty much a mystery around here. But he’s shown himself to be much more prospect than project and Raptors fans have to like what they’ve seen out of the young big man.

  • Lithuania’s bench production was the key to this game. Valanciunas and Jasikevicius were the keys to the attack as the Lithuania reserves outscored Serbia’s subs 47-19. Valanciunas was particularly effective battling down low with the 3-point shots falling early (Lithuania nailed seven of their 10 attempts from distance before halftime).
  • There is no question the energy provided by the home crowd makes a difference. While Serbia tried to keep pace, it was clear that Lithuania played with an extra energy boost their competitors struggled to match. ”I think the game was hard,” Valanciunas said. ”We played hard for all four quarters. I thank the fans because they put on a great atmosphere. It felt as though we were playing with six players. We shot very well from three-point range, especially in the first half.”
  • It’s hard to believe it took this long for it to happen, but Lithuania is the first team to reach the 100-point barrier in this competition, starting point guard Mantas Kalnietis led the way with 19 points. But with the firepower this team possesses, maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise. Valanciunas was the MVP of this summer’s 19-under World Championships while Jasikevicius was the MVP of 2003.

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Taking Their Talents To Turkey?

July 7, 2011  ·  7:34PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – There are plenty of risks and seemingly just as many rewards awaiting the player, or perhaps more appropriately the players, willing to take their talents to Turkey if the lockout continues into the fall.

By now you’ve read the ESPN.com reports about Nets All-Star point guard Deron Williams agreeing in principal to a deal to sign with Besiktas, the same team that signed Allen Iverson last season. Hawks center Zaza Pachulia, who has a Turkish passport, is reportedly close to agreeing to a similar deal.

While the pay for a potentially short-term gig in the Turkish league would be grand for players without contracts, there are those risks we mentioned. What if Williams or Pachulia were injured while playing overseas? (That’s a double whammy effecting both the player and his NBA team.) And what must Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov be thinking with the face of the franchise — acquired in trade that the Nets’ future is dependent on working out in favor of the team headed to Brooklyn — possibly headed to play elsewhere with free agency (2012) looming?

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A.I. On Your (NBA TV) Screen

November 21, 2010  ·  9:05AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — Allen Iverson in a new land, in a different jersey and an unfamiliar basketball world is simply something you should not miss.

Thanks to our friends at NBA TV, you won’t have to.

We’ll get a chance to see exactly what A.I. looks like playing for Besiktas Cola Turka of the Beko Turkish Basketball League today at 3:30 p.m. ET when they face defending TBL champ and crosstown rival Fenerbahce Ulker from Istanbul.

As my main man Ismail Senol translated for me: “It’s Duke-UNC game with more hate! (Yes it’s possible.)”

Understood. But we’re looking for one thing and one thing only.

We need to see if he’s still got it or if it’s over … really over this time.

We can live with the outcome either way. But we need to know why all 30 NBA teams passed on a chance to sign A.I.  to even a minimum contract. We need to know if it was (diminished) skill-related or something else? You know there are going to plenty of NBA executives watching, too.

They want to see the same things we all want to see. They want to see if the 11-time All-Star and former MVP can still turn it on the way he did earlier in his Hall of Fame career (and I know we can all agree that A.I. is headed for Springfield whenever he hangs up his Reeboks).

In the meantime, we’ll be tuning in to see for ourselves.

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Elveda from Istanbul

September 12, 2010  ·  8:27PM

ISTANBUL — If you were just looking for a little competitive basketball to tide you over until the NBA and European seasons begin, the 2010 FIBA World Championship more than delivered. We had late-game drama, brilliant individual performances, beautiful teamwork, and great basketball through and through.

Best of all, we had a gold medal game that put a young and small American team against a huge Turkey squad and their 15,000 ridiculously loud fans.

And the U.S. National Team answered all the questions with an impressive 81-64 victory over the hosts, who may have run out of gas after Saturday’s ridiculously thrilling victory over Serbia.

All the credit goes to Mike Krzyzewski and his team though. As I wrote in my story, the effort on defense and on the boards was incredible. This was for the gold medal and those guys came with more energy than they’d had in any of their previous eight games.

Heading into the game, there were probably some worries that Kevin Durant, after scoring 71 points on 25-for-44 shooting over the last two games, might have an off night. But KD carried them offensively once again, earning that MVP trophy that he was ready to concede to Luis Scola a few days ago.

Lamar Odom also had another big game in a big spot, recording his second straight double-double. And Russell Westbrook brought ridiculous energy and athleticism. Westbrook was thought to be on the roster bubble a few times in training camp, but he turned out to be the guy that best represented the identity of this team: fast, athletic and aggressive defensively.

***

Turkey was a fantastic host. Though it would have been nice to visit one of the other three pool play cities, I was happy to spend my 2 1/2 weeks in Istanbul, a beautiful city with much to see and do. The traffic sucked (I joked with some people that Istanbul’s top export is exhaust fumes), but every other aspect of the trip was fantastic.

Well, except for the untimely death of my laptop on Sunday morning, causing me much frustration. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a computer to write my story and post this blog. But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to accompany this text with some photos from my trip, because they were lost in the crash.

As beautiful as the sights of Istanbul are, it was equally enjoyable for me, as a basketball nut, to witness the atmosphere inside the Sinan Erdem Arena for every game that Turkey played. The reaction of the crowd to Kerem Tunceri’s game-winning layup on Saturday is something I’ll never forget. And I honestly got chills every time “12 Giant Men” or the Turkish national anthem was sung by the 15,000 strong.

***

Lithuania Wins Bronze

Before the USA-Turkey finale, Lithuania beat Serbia, 99-88 to capture the bronze medal.

The key sequence came in the second quarter, when Lithuania used a 14-4 run to turn a three-point lead into a 13-point cushion. The run included four straight three-point possessions and two straight threes from Linas Kleiza.

After Andre Iguodala shut him down on Saturday, Kleiza broke out for 33 points on Sunday, including 12 in that pivotal second quarter. Nenad Krstic struggled for Serbia, finishing with just five points on 2-for-7 from the field.

Lithuania came here with a young team, and they definitely overachieved, going 8-1, with their only loss coming at the hands of the U.S. They will host next year’s European Championship, certainly taking some momentum from this tournament into that one.

***

Argentina Takes Fifth

In the afternoon, Argentina outlasted Spain, 86-81 to finish fifth. Spain came all the way back from being down 25 in the middle of the third quarter to tie the game with two minutes left in the fourth. But they missed on a couple of opportunities to take the lead and scored just one point in their final five possessions.

Pablo Prigioni hit the dagger for Argentina, who was led by 27 points from Carlos Delfino and 22 from Scola. Rudy Fernandez led all scorers with 31 points on 11-for-13 shooting.

***

All-Tournament Team

Kevin Durant (USA), Linas Kleiza (LTU), Luis Scola (ARG), Milos Teodosic (SER), Hedo Turkoglu (TUR)

***

So, Elveda (I think and hope that means “goodbye”) from Istanbul. It’s been a great trip and I hope to be back here again sometime down the line. If you’ve got any questions or comments, please send an e-mail via the link below.

***

More USA Basketball coverage: Analysis | Blog

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.

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Notes from TUR 83, SER 82

September 11, 2010  ·  6:15PM

The home crowd has carried Turkey to the gold medal game. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images)

ISTANBUL – The games in this tournament just keep getting better and better. This one was another classic, with Turkey pulling out an amazing 83-82 victory over Serbia to reach the gold medal game.

That sets up the matchup that many have been waiting for: USA vs. Turkey for the gold on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The atmosphere inside the Sinan Erdem Dome will be absolutely insane, as it was in the closing moments of this one.

Serbia was ahead most of the night, with Turkey cooling off after shooting 67 percent in Wednesday’s win over Slovenia. When Turkey tied the game at 46 early in the third quarter, Milos Teodosic led Serbia on an 8-0 run, which began with a cold-blooded pull-up three when the whistles were at their loudest.

Turkey climbed back to within two early in the fourth, but Serbia answered again and was up eight (72-64) with five and a half minutes to go after another Teodosic pull-up three.

That’s when Turkey scored 14 points in five possessions, with Kerem Tunceri putting them ahead with a pull-up three that nearly blew the roof off the arena.

Serbia then answered again, and Marko Keselj put them ahead by grabbing an incredible offensive rebound and hitting a pair of free throws with 28.7 seconds left. But on the other end, Serbia gave Tunceri a wide-open lane and his drive-and-dish to Semih Erden gave Turkey a one-point lead and fouled Nenad Krstic out of the game. Erden missed the free throw with 16.8 seconds left though.

Then Serbia ran a beautiful play to take the lead. Teodosic ran a pick-and-roll with Novica Velickovic. He hesitated a bit, then drove left and dished to Aleksandar Rasic who was cutting along the baseline. Rasic caught the ball and immediately hit Velickovic on the other side of the basket for a layup that put Serbia up 82-81 with 4.3 seconds left.

After Turkey called timeout, they inbounded the ball to Hedo Turkoglu who appeared to fumble the ball, but it went right to Tunceri on the baseline, who had another open lane to the basket. His layup put Turkey ahead one with 0.5 seconds left.

The clock out when Serbia inbounded the ball in the backcourt, and the whole building celebrated. But the referees ruled that Serbian coach Dusan Ivkovic had called timeout, and they put 0.5 back on the clock.

The timeout gave Serbia the ball at the mid-court line, and they gave themselves a good shot at the win when Dusko Savanovic threw a great lob to Velickovic. But Erden was right there to block Velickovic’s layup at the buzzer.

  • More than half of Serbia’s shots (29 of 57) came from beyond the arc.
  • Teodosic finished with 13 points and 11 assists, but made just one of his four shots in the fourth quarter.
  • Turkoglu led Turkey with 16 points on 6-for-14 from the field, but he didn’t have a single assist. In fact, Turkey assisted on just 10 of its 27 field goals.
  • Tunceri scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, connecting on all four shots he took in the final period.
  • Turkey almost beat itself by shooting just 20-for-33 (61 percent) from the free throw line.
  • Speaking of free throws, there was an interesting play/manuever/strategy when new Bulls center Omer Asik was fouled with his team up one and 1:18 left in the fourth. Asik, who was 1-for-3 from the line in the game and 15-for-41 (37 percent) in the tournament, laid down on the ground in pain after the foul, holding his face. Turkey replaced him with point guard Ender Arslan, who was just 4-for-10 from the line in the tournament. Arslan made one of the two freebies.
  • Late in the fourth quarter, there were reporters (at least I assume they were reporters) waving their arms and whistling in the media section when Serbia was shooting free throws.
  • Serbia will play Lithuania for the bronze medal on Sunday (noon ET, ESPN Classic).

***

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John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.

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Notes from TUR 95, SLO 68

September 8, 2010  ·  5:00PM

ISTANBUL – Backed by a home crowd that just won’t stop singing, Turkey continues to roll through this tournament. And at this point, there’s no doubt that they have an excellent chance to win gold on their home floor come Sunday.

To get that chance, they’ll have to beat Serbia on Saturday night. But they should be strong favorites to do so after crushing Slovenia in the quarters, 95-68.

This looked like another one of those all-offense games early on, with each team getting off to a hot start. But Turkey stayed hot while holding Slovenia scoreless on its last seven possessions of the first quarter. The resulting 10-0 run gave them a 13-point lead heading into the second, and they had yet to use their vaunted 2-1-2 zone defense.

They finally went to the zone midway through the second quarter, with a big frontline of Kerem Gonlum (6-foot-10), Oguz Savas (6-foot-10) and Semih Erden (6-foot-11).

And that was nothing, because a couple of possessions later, they brought in Hedo Turkoglu to play shooting guard. So, with Ender Arslan at the point, they had a lineup that looked like this: 6-3, 6-10, 6-10, 6-10, 6-11.

That is HUGE. And all of those guys, with the exception of Savas, move well. The big Turkey zone was not used all that much on Wednesday, but it can be a dangerous defensive weapon in the final rounds of this tournament.

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Notes from Turkey 95, France 77

September 5, 2010  ·  4:53PM

Hedo appreciates the love from the home crowd. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images)

ISTANBUL – This one went pretty much as expected. France kept it close for most of the first quarter, but Turkey pulled away in the second and cruised to 95-77 victory that puts them in the quarterfinals against Slovenia on Wednesday.

Turkey was the No. 1 defense in pool play (allowing just 81.1 points per 100 possessions), but it was their offense that was far more dominant on Sunday. France had one of the better defenses in pool play as well (eighth, 97.4 per 100), and they just couldn’t stop Turkey in this game.

The Turkish offense really hit its stride in the second quarter, and at one point in the third, Turkey had scored on 13 of its last 14 possessions. That was a 30-10 run that made this one a laugher.

Hedo Turkoglu shot the ball well (prompting a “Hedo is on FIRE!” call from the PA announcer after back-to-back threes to start the third) and led Turkey with 20 points. Sinan Guler came off the bench and blew by the French defense to the tune of 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting.

Turkey had a +29.8 point differential per 100 possessions in pool play, which put them just slightly behind the U.S. (+30.9) as the most dominant team in the tournament. They’ve got their (very loud) home crowd behind them for every game and it is no stretch to believe they can win gold. If they beat Slovenia on Wednesday, they would face the Serbia-Spain winner in the semifinals on Saturday.

Here are a few more notes from this one…

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The Evil Eye

September 3, 2010  ·  5:16PM

Believe it or not, there’s more to this trip than just basketball. And while I’m here with the U.S. National Team, I hope to bring you some of the sights of Istanbul, along with a taste of Turkish culture.

ISTANBUL – The U.S. National Team has been here in Istanbul for eight days now. And with a day off here and there, they’ve begun to get a feel for this historic city.

Inside The Grand Bazaar.

Hopefully, they’ll also take some time to see the sights of Istanbul (and not just take taxis to McDonald’s). They don’t have to visit all 3,000 mosques in the city. Perhaps just the blue one.

One of the key sights to see in Istanbul, not too far from the Blue Mosque and the gorgeous Hagia Sophia, is The Grand Bazaar. It’s kind of like a mall, but the stores are a lot smaller than those you’d find at Newport Centre or Westside Pavilion. And since it’s situated in the middle of the old city here, some of the hallways are very narrow. It’s a very cool shopping experience (except it can get very hot in the summer).

They’ve got all kinds of stuff for sale at The Grand Bazaar: jewelry, fabrics, ceramics, rugs, leather jackets, etc. And the expectation is that if you want to buy something, you don’t accept the vendor’s initial price, but rather haggle it down a bit.

As you’re walking through, you’ll quickly notice the abundance of these blue disks that fit in your palm and that you can buy for a few Turkish lira (about $2). The Turkish term for these things is “nazar boncuk.” Translated literally, that means “evil bead,” but the common English name for it is “the Evil Eye.”

It’s a little confusing because the bead is meant to ward off evil, not promote it in any fashion. And these evil eyes are not just for tourists. Our guide here tells us that pretty much all Turkish people either carry one of these beads around with them and/or hang them in their house to ward off any evil that they may encounter during the course of the day or that visitors might bring into their home.

But the fascinating thing is in how many different forms you’ll find this evil eye design. I’m sure I didn’t come across them all, but here’s just a sample…

This is a box of standard evil eyes.

More after the jump…

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