Who is this ‘man’ and why the heck does he look this way? And where the heck was he planning to go in such a crazy outfit?
Take a closer look, guess and maybe you’ll win the 3rd Trippy Travel Photo game, a unique series/game I recently started!
The Game
I post the pic, you try to guess and we have fun. Answer these questions (expanded instructions here):
Where was it taken?
What is it of? (Or in some cases, what was happening?)
How to Play
–Post your guesses here in the Comments Section (tweets don’t count–sorry)
–Keep checking and guessing as the guessing gets good
–See who won; maybe it will be you!
The Prize?
Nothing fancy. The winner gets their name/website link posted (and that’s great for SEO.)
By the way…this week’s Trippy Travel Photo falls into two of the three categories I use: Human/s…Being and Off-Beat Oddities.
Click here to see the last two Trippy Travel Photos and the winners or to see more detailed instructions re: how to play the game.
The Winner…
Kristin of Take Your Big Trip!
Her guess: “This Turkish man, probably a resident of Istanbul, is modeling a very stylish circumcision day outfit. When I was in Istanbul, I saw many little boys modeling similar outfits. Maybe the crown and king-like outfit makes them forget that in a few hours a key part of their body will have less of it.”
The Answer…
Actual answer: The ‘man’nequin is, indeed, from Turkey (Mardin, which is in the East near Syria), and he’s wearing a ‘circumcision day costume.’ While you often see these costumes for the young boys, they’re less common for the men. According to a friend of mine who teaches in Turkey, they’re for uncircumcised foreign men who marry Turkish women and convert to Islam who must go through the ceremony.
Some say that the special “sultan’s outfit” helps make the ceremony more of a party and/or special occasion in order to distract the man from his upcoming circumcision. When I was in Turkey, I saw a boy (about 7 or so) on a horse surrounded by people dancing and cheering him on. It looked like everyone was having fun.
Like This post?
Then you’ll probably love my special post called Middle Eastern Mannequins: A Secret, Surreal World. It’s got more like this one and plenty that are even more bizarre.
Guess 1: wax museum figure of Tom Cruise in Drumline.
guess 2: a mannequin in a men’s wear shop. Perhaps with a royal theme (Middle East) or band leader (in Puerto Rico or other Ricky Martin-living area).
Charles McCool recently posted..Ultra-Inexpensive FREE Buses
GREAT guesses…wow!! #1 is hilarious–really. Cracked me up! And #2 is quite warm (the first part of it, anyway). I love the second part…v funny re: a band leader in PR. LOL!
To make the game a little easier (the last one was very challenging), I’ll list the parts of your guess that are correct/close and explain a little bit
Mannequin–yes
Royal theme–sort of (superficially, anyway)
Middle East–yes and no
Thank for playing. So far, you’re winning!
Perhaps a Prince impersonator. He is getting ready to perform in Vegas……………
I could see how you might think that….and it’s a great guess. But….you’re ‘cold’. I hope you’ll try again and thanks for playing!
So this is a mannequin dressed in a marriage outfit and the picture was taken in Spain.
Felisha Wild recently posted..Pete’s Fruit Market Micro-view
Love it, Felisha–a really great guess!
This Turkish man, probably a resident of Istanbul, is modeling a very stylish circumcision day outfit. When I was in Istanbul, I saw many little boys modeling similar outfits. Maybe the crown and king-like outfit makes them forget that in a few hours a key part of their body will have less of it.
Hi, Kristin. Guess what? Your guess is the best (95% right), so you are the official winner of Trippy Travel Photo Game #3!! The ‘man’nequin is, indeed, from Turkey (Mardin, which is in the East near Syria, as I’m sure you know). And yes, he’s wearing a circumcision day outfit. While you often see these costumes for the young boys, they’re less common for the men. According to a friend of mine who teaches in Turkey, they’re for uncircumcised foreign men who marry Turkish women and convert to Islam who must go through the ceremony.
As for your theory re: why they wear the special “sultan’s outfit,” I think you’re absolutely right. In making the ceremony more of a party and/or special occasion, it sort of distracts the man who’s about to be circumcised. I think that’s why they often play music and throw coins to the kids, too.
Thanks so much for that winning guess and congratulations!! I will post your name/link, etc. up above and tweet that you won. Hope to see you here next week. I’ve got something equally as trippy, but completely different, coming up!
Thank you! I had no idea that men also wear this outfit and why – thanks for the history. This is a fun contest- can’t wait to see what’s next!
You’re welcome. So glad you liked it and that you’re looking forward to the next one! I hope you have fun with it…
Damn Adam Ant is looking good for his age, though he should speak to his doctor looks a bit waxen!
Adam Ant? Hilarious. Yeah, he does look a bit waxen and maybe even a bit ashen! Thanks for the guess!
Okay mannequin advertising the new Prince of Persia film/game about to be released outside a men’s outfitters far too close to wear I live for comfort!
Don’t suppose you have Mr Ben over there so next comment would be wasted lol
Could be a fancy dress shop in the Big Easy
Funny, as always, Iain (did I finally spell your name right??).
Thanks for playing…always a pleasure to have you here among the intrepid!
I’ll get it next time I promise. LOL
Felisha Wild recently posted..Pete’s Fruit Market Micro-view
He, he, he…I like your determination! Because of it, you could very well win next time. I hope so!
Very interesting indeed! I was there a couple of years back, but could never have made the right guess
Siddhartha Joshi recently posted..Gujarat Darshan – Kera Kutch
Hi, Sid (Joshi?). I first learned about this when I noticed kids wearing these costumes on the train. I thought they were in a play or something. Later on, when I was in the Spice Bazaar, I saw the same ones that you see in the photo. I asked someone and they said, “Oh…those are for the ‘cutting.’ ” The person then elaborated and I began to understand.
Thanks for checking this pic out. Next week, I’ll have a new Trippy Travel Photo up. Hope you’ll stop by again!
Thanks for the explanation
I was quite amused to see that the most beautiful room at the Topkapi palace was for ‘cutting’, with detailed images of the procedure.
Oh yes, my surname is ‘Joshi’
Siddhartha Joshi recently posted..Gujarat Darshan – Jakhau the land of the dried- dead fish
You’re welcome! And oh yeah, that’s right about the Topkapi Palace. Ouch!
PS: Cool name.
Whoa! Trippy indeed, don’t think I’d have ever guessed that – thought the mannequin looked like Elvis. Wow!
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Hey, Maria. Yes, a trippy dude! Funny that you said that, btw. It’s exactly what my mom said–LOL!