Woman stands still on sidewalk in Istanbul for 5 hours

ISTANBUL

In a peculiar incident, a woman, believed to be a foreigner, decided to stand still on a sidewalk in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district out of the blue, not moving for at least five hours before the police finally detained her to learn the motive behind her abnormal behavior.

According to witnesses, the woman walked from side to side on Beyoğlu’s Bahariye Street and finally stood still on the sidewalk, completely unresponsive.

Looking at the abnormal behavior, shopkeepers tried to reach for help, thinking she was under a panic attack or some problem, but efforts were in vain.

Upon notification, the police and medical team reached the scene and tried to persuade the woman to speak or move away from the sidewalk, but all efforts remained inconclusive.

Eyewitness Mevlüt Baştaş stated two police officers came up to the woman and asked if she needed help.

“The police officers waited there for 45 minutes to convince her, and shopkeepers tried to offer food, but she continued not to talk or move,” he explained, adding that it seemed as if she might have been suffering from a trauma or maybe disabled.

The woman stood on the sidewalk for about five hours. Later, police took the woman for identification.