Empty Headed Dogs?

Translating can be a tricky job. I'm so not a translator at this stage in the game! But still, things come funny to me at times (including the English language...I don't think we say that things come funny to us - that would be a translation out of Turkish to English!). About a month ago some friends and I came across this sign while hiking. We have a stray dog problem in Ankara. But directly translated - we have a problem with dogs who have empty heads. Stupid dogs? No, simply dogs who have no owners...

Life on the Street

A few days ago I was caught in a rain storm. Now, for Ankara in June this was no small storm. Can we say river in the street? Fortunately when the thunder started I was still in my language lesson so my language helper called me a cab. From the front gate of her building to the cab I crossed a small creek, a.k.a. the road. Right across from me was the weekly outdoor market, or pazar as we say here. Normal activity had paused for the down pour. Women and men, shoppers and pazarcıs (men selling items at the pazar) were huddled under the umbrellas in attempts to stay out of the rain. By the time I arrived home not too many dry people could be found in the streets of central Ankara.
Right now so much of life is lived outside. Summer is here, after all! Ankara is out again! So when the rain comes, watch out. And always carry and umbrella.