Behind the T-Walls: Morocco, part 3, "Mannequins"

Because no trip is complete without me being scared to death by the mannequins...

At first, it didn't seem so bad, when visiting the Morocco Mall. These two were the coolest mannequins I've probably ever seen. I had high hopes for Morocco's mannequin population.

But then there was this!

And then this one hiding in a dark corner in a djellaba shop.

I don't know what was going on with this one.

These were a series all at one shop in the atlas mountains.This one'd had her neck broken.

She looks pretty sad, but I like the pink/blue djellaba-hijab combo.

This mannequin makes me want to cry...

And my crown jewel of the trip: Hello Mimi. I wouldn't want to meet this lovely lady in a dark alley. yikes!

Topkapi Palace

My vacation continued in a country I've been trying to visit for a couple years now...Turkey. I had nine whole days to explore Istanbul. I'm not a big fan of traveling alone and luckily I had company for the first couple days from the friend I visited in England. One of our first stops was the Topkapi Palace...of which I managed to not not get a front picture.

One of the rooms (in which photography was forbidden) held some Islamic relics (copies of the Koran etc) and there was someone singing the Koran over a loudspeaker. We thought it was a recording at first until we passed his booth. It being "live" actually made it cooler.

Window grille detail

 

I believe this was the library.

 

Or this was the library...

 

Mother of pearl detail on a door.

 

Creepy fake people.

 

I'm so moving in. I can totally see me living here...with a little more furniture and cable of course. But right? I would fit right in. Although the creepy fake people would have to go. Word of warning to anyone visiting Istanbul though...museums are expensive!! I mean I know I'm spoiled with the free Smithsonian museums and all...but the entrance fee to Topkapi was I think 10 lira ($7) but then you had to pay another 15 lira ($10) to get into the harem...which was one of the cooler sections of the whole palace.

Wierd and Wonderful: Mannequins in All Their Glory

As Andrea mentioned in Yesterday's Post, we saw some interesting mannequin's when we were in Xi'an. For a couple of years now, I have been VERY entertained by mannequins that I see when I'm travelling. After reading the post from yesterday, I am really happy that I've documented so many of the wierd and funny ones in my photos. First, check these out from my trip to South America in 2006:

The happiest mannequin on Earth

Creeeeeeepy.....!

This guy is just too cool for school

Giving Wonder Woman a run for her money

Then, there were these from China:

Loved her coat! Also thought she looked like she came from Whoville...

This guy? Really excited about his new Hollister hoodie. Chinese consumerism at its best.

Great hair (Harbin)

Feel like you walked into 1987 yet? (Harbin)

I call these "Tim Burton Mannequins" because they really remind me of his style of animation. We saw these in a Subway tunnel-mall in Shanghai. They are by far, the strangest mannequins I have ever seen in my life.

I hope you've enjoyed these. Have any of you made a habit of capturing things that are drastically different abroad than when you're at home? I'm sure that there are lots, mannequins just happen to be my favorite. :) If you have pictures, feel free to share.