Minor but Annoying Scam in Istanbul

When walking across Galata Bridge, be on the lookout for a man who will "accidentally" drop a brush from his shoeshine kit. He will thank you profusely and will give you a shoe shine that you will believe is in appreciation for giving him his brush. Then he'll expect an outrageous price (think 30 lira or more for about 2 minutes work) for the shine.

A similar scam is a "free" shoe*shine* when you are then charged for the polish.

This scam's being going on for years. I came across it not on the Galata Bridge, but in a completely untouristy corner of the city. Simple way to deal with it: if you didn't ask for a shoe shine, don't let anyone touch your feet.

Mike I can't believe you fell for this very old and well known scam.If you see one of the shoeshiners drop a brush....leave it for the next mug to pick up!
No self respecting shoe shiner'drops'a brush.

Wear plastic Crocs, or their clones, as defence.

I've loved the way they've looked at me to see if I'm interested when I've been wearing WHITE shoes!

Wasn't me sarikinarya, it was Rick. He was fuming for hours.

That is a common scam in many areas of Istanbul. Turkey is a major producer of fine shoes (I always buy a pair when I'm in the country) and Turkish men are particular about their shoes and like them clean. This means that shoe shinning is a real business in Turkey with old guys who've been shinning shoes since the days of Ataturk (that is a joke, for those who don't recognize humor) setting up shop under umbrellas. A very good shoe shine should cost no more than ten TL, but you'll find guys working around the major tourist sites who will try and get you to pay 30 or 40 TL.

Whattt?I had Rick pegged as being smarter than the average dawgie on the block LOL!Tell him he's lost 5 points from his street cred rating :))
Actually,(now we've had fun at your expense)I guess it is useful to occasionally have reminders of these city scams just to keep visitors on the alert.For such a huge cosmopolitan city Istanbul is remarkably friendly and this can lead to visitors lowering their guard a bit,but there are scams in any place where tourism is found,always some folks looking to use unsavoury ways to part you from your cash....

Bit like the guy in the UK who protested against VAT being introduced on hot food take-aways....
He ended up with a poster that read:
Fish and chips free, mandatory salt and vinegar £3 :)

Actually,(now we've had fun at your expense)I guess it is useful to occasionally have reminders of these city scams just to keep visitors on the alert.For such a huge cosmopolitan city Istanbul is remarkably friendly and this can lead to visitors lowering their guard a bit,but there are scams in any place where tourism is found,always some folks looking to use unsavoury ways to part you from your cash....

In most other countries in the region, the scam artists rip you off completely. Although they'll try to get you to pay three or four times the going rate, at least with the shoe shine scammers in Istanbul you'll get a shoe shine!

Whattt?I had Rick pegged as being smarter than the average dawgie on the block LOL!Tell him he's lost 5 points from his street cred rating :))

Why do you think he was fuming for hours?

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