In Turkey? Was that when Paul’s Cole’s Crane broke down in Silopi on the Iraq/Turkish border and he became King of Silopi for a week or so? He had all the locals fetching and carrying for him.
That town was like the Wild West as the kids jumped onto the trucks as we waited (3 days and nights) for the border crossing. Once I was with Johnny Ward who was behind me and as the kids approached I’d give them the arabic head sign - jerking the jaw up and down quickly (sort of opposite to a nod. the sign which means leave me alone) and they passed me by and swarmed all over Wardy’s truck. He was not amused and couldn’t understand why they chose him and not me…
The kids used to ask for passport photos and I handed out one of myself and then later another child came along and I gave him one too… All of a sudden world war III erupted in front of me as the two kids started hammering each other - I mean REALLY hammering each other. I had to jump down to separate them. Apparently the photo gave some kind of business ownership rights for changing money, begging etc etc…
It was in Silopi that they set an army guard to stop the trucks queuing all through the town and letting them through bit by bit… I was stopped just at the entrance to the town and wait there for hours. The soldier controli9ng the traffic engaged me in conversation (he was after a ■■■) and I took photos of him aiming his gun at me… All was well till he got involved in an altercation with a Turkish truck driver that he hauled out of his cab and beat the ■■■■ out of him, bashing him on the head with his rifle ■■■■, kicking him etc leaving the fellow lying in the road. Scarey! Then he came back to me and demanded my camera. I think he thought I might have photographed him or perhaps he just wanted it. I refused and a battle of words ensued and i became increasingly anxious having seen him dish out violence so casually. I was saved by a guard change… A military jeep turned up and he was swapped for another soldier… Phew…