One of my favourite activities in Istanbul is wandering alongside the beautiful Bosphorus; one of the popular activities for the locals is shooting the brightly coloured balloons that are hanging at the water’s edge.
You’ll find these shooting setups in umpteen locations – pay a small fee to borrow the air rifle and practice your shooting skills. Hitting the bobbing, weightless targets must be a bit of a challenge.
This popular activity attracted a wide range of ages, mainly male, and seemed to be a jolly pastime with no sense of competition – no scores noted, no prizes given.
In the evening, it seems to be an even more popular pastime, and a very colourful one at that.
With the evidence left on view the next morning.
The delicate nature of the balloons means litter, of course, and sadly it will mean no pleasure for the local wildlife.
Travel with Intent 
Strange idea but lovely photos 🙂 Which reminds me- how ever would you select 12 from your archives? 🙂
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Impossible! ☺
On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 5:15 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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But I was doing calendars for other people so there were reasons for choosing things
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how fun that sounds!
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It’s almost as if they were put there for you to use for this challenge they’re so appropriate to the theme! Nicely done!!
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Yes, it was very kind. My first thought was the glass balloons of Venice and then I remembered these more exciting ones!
On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 3:39 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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That sounded quite fun, did you try?
Love the nightshot and the colourful baloons.
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No I didn’t. I enjoyed watching but maybe I should have tried too!
On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 10:42 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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He he!! 🙂
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Debbie, I saw this game once in Adana. Hilarious. I love it!
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It seemed to generate a happy mood. I chatted with teh guy in the photo and he was charming. He didn’t attempt to get me to join in but he did take photos of me
On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 10:10 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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It does look fun and colourful but I’d be concerned that the burst balloons would end up in the sea and the sea creatures bellies.
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ahahahaha, I HAD TO laugh. first photo – nice colourful balloons with great background. so pastel, so romantic…when you said : “shooting balloons” I was more into shooting with camera and then a guy with a gun. it took me a second to realize what the shooting was about. great photos.
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Glad you enjoyed it. It was a post I’d been meaning to write for ages, just hadn’t got round to choosing the photos.
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I ,love the baloons but I don’t like the shooting!
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I’m not keen on anything that promotes shooting and gun ownership.
On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 9:09 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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