Turkey has bred a population that watches things. They love to watch things, especially people, to the extent that they will watch, with almost unflagging attention, the most mundane of spectacles.

To exemplify the degree of tediousness, I have come across a pack of three or four people watching the digging of a hole. Not an interesting hole, such as a hole which is being dug with the latest of John Deere and CAT’s combined technology, but a hole being dug by one man with a shovel. In this case, it was neither a unique shovel nor a unique man, just a regular guy with an average shovel.

It is quite possible that these people watching the regular guy with the average shovel were only captivated for a short period of time. But I question the brevity of their spectating since I have also seen groups drawn, and held for a considerable period of time, by activities such as putting down/taking up paving stones or washing windows on the first floor of a building. So, you can imagine the veritable melee that occurs when something interesting happens on the street, like a fight or someone getting hit by a car.

I wonder if it is enjoyable being so easily entertained. I can see how it would have its advantages in certain circumstances such as long bus rides and boring meetings.