Istanbul Was Left With 10 Stitches to Her Head After a Market Vendor Hurled a Wooden Plank at Her During a Dispute Over Picking

The altercation unfolded around 7 p.m. on Monday, July 27, at a neighborhood market in Beyoglu's Kulaksız district. Nurcihan Yıkılkan, 50, was shopping when vendor Selahattin Ş., 55, warned her not to damage his produce, allegedly saying, "Sister, I sell these; I make my living from them. Don't harm the goods.

The exchange escalated into a brawl, during which Selahattin Ş. allegedly cursed at Yıkılkan and threw the plank at her head. Bystanders called emergency services, and Yıkılkan was taken to a hospital, where she received 10 stitches for a head wound. Police arrested Selahattin Ş. on charges of intentional injury, and a court later ordered his detention pending trial.

Yıkılkan said she had gone to the market to buy ripe pears for her blind, toothless mother. "I told him, 'My mother can't see and has no teeth, so I want to buy the softer ones. He said, 'You can't, and cursed at me, then suddenly hit my head.

I was covered in blood, she said. "Is this how women should be treated? Don't they have mothers, fathers, families? Can't we go to the market anymore?"