Baksheesh Read Online Free PDF Page B

you deaf?”
    â€œNo, I’m not,” I said. “How would an idiot like you know if it’s for sale or not?”
    â€œWhat did you say?”
    â€œI said idiot! Bloody idiot.”
    The idiot went for my throat and started squeezing it. It wasn’t really that bad. I mean, he wasn’t squeezing hard enough to kill me. Still, the moment he let go, I started to yell. I was still in the gap between the door and the door frame and I was screaming blue murder.
    â€œPolice! Police! Help!!”
    We must have looked quite ridiculous. The man now had his hands over his ears and was shouting, “Shut up! For God’s sake, shut up!”
    Despite all the noise and hullabaloo, the man inside had still not looked out which, even as I was screaming my head off, I found strange.
    It seemed even stranger when I thought about it afterwards.
    Â 
    The Tatar from the floor below came to my help. Some Romanian labourers working on the top floor also came rushing down, but it was the Tatar who saved me. He invited me in and sent out for some tea.
    I was halfway through a cigarette by the time he asked, “What happened, madam?”

    â€œI wanted to see inside the apartment. But the man turned nasty for no reason.”
    â€œWhy? You looked at this one a short while ago. The others have exactly the same layout. So why? Why did you…”
    â€œThe apartment upstairs is about to come on the market. Apparently there’s no owner. It used to belong to one of the Jewish families who lived in Kuledibi. Property that has no owner is turned over to the Treasury and gets sold off after a certain period of time.”
    â€œOh, my dear lady,” he said, laughing. “Do you think those men are going to let you have it? Do you have any idea who they are? They’re not like us. Trust you to pick that one!”
    â€œWhat do you mean by ‘they’re not like us’?”
    He took hold of his trouser legs and pulled them up carefully before sitting down on the chair opposite me.
    â€œEveryone knows that. You know the car park next to the grocer’s, don’t you? How many years have you been in Kuledibi?”
    â€œA little over four years.”
    â€œAh well, in that case, you wouldn’t know about the building that was demolished on that plot. Must be six years ago. Would you like more tea? I’ll send out for it right away. You’ve just been through an ordeal and it’ll do you good. Excuse me a moment, I’ll order the tea and be right back.”
    So, it seemed that I’d encountered a true Istanbul Tatar gentleman in this odd place.
    When he returned, he again carefully pulled up his trouser legs to maintain their crease before sitting down.
    â€œWell now, what was I saying?”
    â€œThe car park,” I said.
    â€œAh yes.” He pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.
    â€œUntil six years ago, there was a historic building where that car park is now. I don’t know if it had an owner, but, even if it did, it would have made no difference. Those men weren’t the
sort to worry about a mere landlord. You should be grateful that you got off so lightly. You must have heard what happened in Ortaköy? They burned down a huge school. It wasn’t the same lot of course, but these men are in the same business. They burn down buildings to make car parks. You must have heard how they burned down a school because the headmaster wouldn’t let them use the playground for a car park.”
    â€œI didn’t know,” I said. “I don’t read the newspapers.”
    He nodded knowingly and made no further comment. He ran his forefinger over the table next to him and looked long and hard at it, checking to see if there was any dust, then rubbed his finger and thumb together.
    â€œExcuse me, but may I ask you a question?” he asked, looking a little embarrassed, with his head on one side.
    Oh no, I thought, what is he