Jan-Piet Mens

Many years ago I gave a couple of training courses to employees of a bank in the Turkish capital Ankara. It was a very interesting experience and I was able to pick up a couple dozen words of the Turkish language. My favorite word was (and still is): yok. It means "nothing" or "not available" and I understand it is added after the noun.

Last night I ordered a Dürüm (also called Saç, a very tasty thin pancake type of dough which is then covered in meat, cold veggies and some sauce, depending on the customer's whim.

Upon giving my order, I heard the chappie behind the counter say to a colleage: "Dürüm yok?", (with the question mark). I knew, without having to wait for the translation, that I had to choose something else…