Something bizarre in Istanbul

Peter, Amanda and I were walking in Sultanahmet the other day, between Hagia Sophia and the blue Mosque, when we noticed a strange phenomenon. In the park between the two buildings is a huge, red, mirrored tulip. Amanda says that last spring the International Tulip Festival was held in Istanbul, and that this must be a holdover from that event. Wherever it came from, it is huge, hideous, and incredibly popular. It seems that EVERYONE wants their picture taken between the petals of the tulip.

But it's more interesting than that -- the single largest segment of the population that wants their picture made there is young males. And they don't just stand in front of the tulip for a photo op, they pose in it -- like male models! It is completely strange and quite hilarious. Once we saw several young men do this in a row, from several different groups of friends, over the course of 15 minutes or so, Amanda decided that we had to document this bizarre phenomenon for posterity. So she decided to pose between the petals of the tulip like a tourist while some of the young men were having their friends make their pictures. The results are hilarious. Here is one of Amanda and a young Turk trying to look his best:

Here's another one that we thought was not a great picture because Candace happened to snap it just when the guy finished posing and started to walk out of the tulip:

But, if you look closer, you can see that it's even better than a posed picture. The other guy, to the left, is totally checking himself out in the reflective surface of the tulip!

What is up with that?!?!?