Point of view: The better photo is in Turkey

December 15, 2003

Sometimes you find tourist traps in unlikely places. In this case it came in the guise of a farmer posing as a guide. Or was it the other way around? While on vacation in Turkey, my wife, Susie, and I stopped at a deserted ruin near Melitos, off the Aegean coast. A man appeared from a one-room stone house nearby, happy to see us. Although he spoke little English, and we less Turkish, he managed to give us an informative tour of an ancient silted-in harbor, now a pasture. He accepted a small tip after the tour. Then he pointed to my camera and insisted that I take his picture with Susie. That shot shows him playfully planting a scratchy smooch on her cheek. (Sorry, she won't let me publish that one.) But knowing a great face for a portrait when I see one, I got him to pose for this photo.

He invited us to tour his dwelling. We graciously accepted - and quickly saw that it wasn't the money he was interested in. The walls were covered with photos of him posing with tourists. I promised to send him an image. So if you want to see that photo of him and my wife, you'll have to go to Turkey.