49.7

About this shot
The coolest things about platforms like Flickr, 500px or G+ are not only to show your work to a greater audience, but also to connect to people. After my first visit in Istanbul six months back, I knew I'll have to come back soon. Knowing that I asked around if some locals wanted to participate in a photo walk.
I was really happy that Kurtcebe Kirecci and Serap Sabah joined us for a whole day. Definitely the best "blind date" I ever had.

I met our stranger while walking through a district called Fatih. Thanks to Pamela for giving me a heads-up on this character.

About this stranger
Meet Sakir Cicek. He is 36 years old and another living prove that THEY are no isolated cases in Istanbul: bearded men.

Sakir told us that he is married to a beautiful wife and proud father of three girls and three boys. He also is almost vegetarian (thumbs up) and his favorite dish is rice, beans with yoghurt.

He loves wearing baseball hats. And if you have a closer look a his headshot, you might have asked yourself if he likes collecting golden coins. :-)

60% of buildings in Istanbul are dilapidated. So being in construction like Sakir means there is a shitload of work to for probably the next 2-3 decades. But this guarantee of permanent work put him into the position to live in Istanbul in a shared apartment with ten colleagues.

While his wife and six children still live about 1200km away in a town called Erzürum.

Who else can our strangers #31 be than "The contracted Bricklayer"