Speaking of Turkish tops…
I just returned from Turkey, where I was lucky enough to witness the colorful tethered Turkish tops in their homeland. They appear to be marketed mainly among street vendors and mostly sold to tourists around the religious sites in old Istanbul—this is the only place I saw them. They are generally sold by young guys walking around with a large bundle of tops dangling from one hand and demonstrating with the other. Some of them were quite good. I saw a few through the leg and back to hand tricks. Many also threw wide arch upside down boomerang-like tricks where the tops landed in hand on the head of the nail attaching the metal ring. The most common thing they did was to throw them to the ground and “walk the dog”, sometimes returning to hand ala sky rocket. (They were mildly impressed when I showed them I could do this too
) The demonstrator’s skills are key in capturing the attention and inspiring would be buyers to part with their Turkish Liras.
Sadly, these tops are cheaply made—several of the ones I bought quickly cracked due to being turned wet I assume. I’d like to think they are hot items, selling out as fast as they can make ‘em? The tips seem to be made of stout upholstery tacks—good for spinning on the ground, the bodies of a fairly light wood colorfully dyed & unfinished, the ring of thin stamped steel (like a metal ferule atop a glass globe Christmas ornament)--the ring is attached to the solid wood body with a finishing nail threaded through two opposite holes in the side walls of the ring. The bright colored nylon string is attached through a third hole in the side of the ring held in by a stopper knot. Like in the video, when I returned to my hotel room, I too quickly loosed the knot, unleashed the top and tossed it a few times untethered. It worked, but the stubby tip makes acrobatic string play all but impossible. Still I did throw a few spinners before re-attaching Turkish style (I didn’t land a boomerang for some snagging problems). These tops seem limited at first, but the more I play with mine, I have to believe interesting new tricks are waiting to be teased out of them. They are unusual and compelling for sure. I believe the popularity of these is simply due to their being so easy to play—like tops with training wheels! To me they sum up to a captivating combination of spin top, yo-yo and gyroscope. Good fun one and all.
I also had the good fortune to find more familiar Turkish tops in a small village street market near the town of Iznik. These had more typical western/egg shape, rounded crown (crownless?), nice metal flared tips—“half hour glass” in shape (I made this description up--think top dog prototype tip for those who know or care). The ones I saw were generally of the same size and shape as one another, all solid and turned from a good hard wood and decorated with three equatorial rings of pink and green. They varied in size a bit from piece to piece, but most are about the size of a standard wooden Duncan. The ones I picked up feel good in hand; round, plump and hefty. These are somewhat suited to acrobatic string play, but the neck of the tip being half wood and half metal does offer more friction than a full hourglass or diabolo style metal tip would. Lacking a ridged crown, these tops are wound “tip-up” much like Koma or Chinese tops would be. In fact, the evening I found these tops, I stayed the night in Bursa and while playing outside my hotel I seemed to have humored the busboy who pointed out a flat concrete pad across the street and followed me over to watch. He must have played in his youth because when I offered him a turn to toss it, he didn't hesitate—he accepted the top, wound up properly and attempted an underhand throw, much like we've seen many others perform using similar Asian peg tops. His throw got a bit tangled, but it was probably his first attempt in years (he did better than I did on my first try).
Anyway, I was super pleased to find these and will try to post some pictures when I get time. I had a few on my phone, but it seemed to have enjoyed the delightfully unusual landscape and exotic culture so much it parted company with me before my return. Bummer, huh?
