For those of you who have not yet taken the plunge and registered as a member of KTLN, we thought we would give you a peek at some of the things you are missing.

In this Local News article we show you an example of our Day in the Life series.  Every week we ask a local person to tell us something about themselves, and what they do.  We have featured a number of interesting characters: bank managers; a baker; a taxi driver; a gift shop owner and a diving instructor, to name just a few. 

In the profile below, originally published on Monday 18th May 2009, we take a look at Şahin Akgül - more commonly known as Eagle.

Name / Adınız Soyadiniz
Şahin Akgül (aka Eagle)

Occupation / Mesleğiniz
Tourism - fashion clothing.  Eagle's Jean Shop, near Moonlight Bar.

Originally from / Doğum yeriniz
Diyarbakır.

Family / Evlimisiniz ve çocuğunuz varmi
Not married.

What time do you get up? / Saat kaçta uyanırsınız
Around 8.30am.

What’s for breakfast? / Kahvaltıda ne seversiniz
Turkish breakfast of cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, bread and çay.

What time do you start work? / Saat kaçta çalışmaya başlarsiniz
I am at my shop by 9am.

What time do you stop work? / Saat kaçta işiniz biter
I can be at work until midnight - sometimes even later.  I have to be there when my customers are there.

How long have you done your current job? / Yaptiğiniz işi ne zamandir yapıyorsunuz
I have done this work for 14 years.

What’s the best thing about your job? / Yaptiniz işte en sevdiği şey nedir
Meeting and talking to people.  I have made lots of friends from many countries.

Describe a typical day /  Bir gününüzün nasıl geçtini anlatirmisiniz
When I arrive at my shop at 9am, I bring out all the clothes to be displayed outside.  Customers can arrive at any time but there are not many before 10am.  Then it is a case of waiting for people to walk down into the town past my shop.

The evenings are usually the busiest time of the day, when people come into town for a meal.  I hope they like to do some clothes shopping as well.

Before I can sell the clothes, of course I have to buy them from the manufacturers in the first place.  From time to time I drive to my suppliers in Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.  These journeys can be quite tiring, but they are very important because I have to get good quality clothes at the right price.

Do the seasons make a difference with your work?  If so, how? /  Yazın işinizde değişiklik oluyormu? Oluyorsa anlatın?
Totally.  In the summer everything is full on.  Very busy, and very long days.  In the winter months I am not working as hard and I love to travel and relax.  I like Europe and spent time travelling round Europe last winter (2008/9).

What makes you happy? /  Sizi en çok ne mutlu eder
To see my friends.  Many people come back to Kalkan year after year and it is nice to catch up with old friends (and young friends) and find out how their lives are going.

If you were not doing this job, what else would you like to do? /  Şu anki yaptiğiniz işi yapmıyor olsaydiniz ne iş yapmek isterdiniz
When I was younger my dream was to be a pilot in the Turkish air force.  If you want to be a pilot you must go to a special school from the age of 12, but unfortunately my family could not afford to send me there, so I could not live that dream.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know. /  Kendinizle ilgili bir çok insanın bilmediği bir şeyi anlatırmısınız
I don't know if people will be surprised, but I am a very sensitive and emotional person at heart.  Also, I am an excellent swimmer.  

Anything else / Başka her hangi birşey
I should talk about Cin Ali (Magic Ali).  He is the little boy who stands outside my shop.  Ali has been with me for 6 years now.  Originally, he had a mum and dad stood by his side, but over time they fell apart - an arm here, a leg there, until one day Ali was left all on his own.  He was an orphan.

I know this story is sad, but over the years he has made many friends.  People often shake his hand and he has had his photo taken hundreds of times.  It would be nice if I could find him a girlfriend but it's not as easy as you may think.  If anyone knows a little girl out there, of a similar size who would love to stand by him and keep him company, please let me know.

End.

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