We watched countless fraud stories in the world of cinema and television, but the most interesting one came from our country, Sülün Osman. Let’s take a closer look at Pheasant Osman, the king of swindlers who made money by exploiting people’s good intentions throughout his life and managed to ‘sell’ even the Galata Bridge, let’s take a closer look at his story.
There have been scammers since the beginning of humanity. Some even managed to fool the kings. But there is one among them, Pheasant Osman, whose name was written in golden letters in the history of fraudsters. Pheasant Osman was a strange man. His mouth was unbelievable and The moment he saw a naive person, he knew it by eye. He used his talents to such an extent that he sold people clock towers, squares and even bridges.
Of course, if we look at the basics, Pheasant Osman is a thief, but the tactics he uses are so interesting that one inevitably gets surprised. Pheasant Osman, who has even been the subject of Kemal Sunal films and Aziz Nesin stories, He is brave enough to say in an interview years later that he is not the real swindler. Let’s take a closer look at Pheasant Osman and see the details of his unique story even today.
Who is Pheasant Osman? A poor officer’s child:
Osman Ziya Sülün, with his real name, was born in Istanbul in 1923. Not many details are known about his childhood, but he said that his father was a civil servant. Osman, who grew up in the years when the empire collapsed and the young republic was founded in its place, realized that he could not earn money with his honor in a short time and took his first step into fraud.
Pheasant Osman is what happens when Osman defrauds the landlord:
Little Osman had no eyes to read, so he started to wander the streets. During these idle wanderings, he met a Greek named Aleko in Kumkapı. Known as Kumkapılı Aleko, this man was one of the three biggest card dealers in the city. And when he loved Osman, he made him his apprentice and taught him all he knew. This is how Osman’s youth story is known, although it is not certain.
Osman Ziya Sülün signed his first job in 1948. Osman, who owned a house in Istanbul’s Fatih district at that time, managed to stay in this house rent-free for several years. They say that he was known as Pheasant Osman after that day because he deceived the landlord skillfully.
Pheasant Osman is a nightmare for those who come to Istanbul for the first time:
Once Osman becomes Pheasant Osman, he speeds things up. Even though he is a talkative person who defrauds everyone who comes his way. his main target is people who come to Istanbul from Anatolia for the first time. The poor people, who came out of Haydarpaşa Station with the intention of defying the big city, were falling into the lap of Sülün Osman.
Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, that is, in the years when Istanbul received the most immigration from Anatolia, Don’t think of Pheasant Osman as an ordinary pickpocket. He would never approach his prey, his prey would come and find him personally. Afterwards, you looked at Pheasant Osman’s hand with his acrobatics that baffled even the smartest man.
Where did Pheasant Osman sell?
One of the most interesting tricks of Pheasant Osman is that he receives money to adjust the clock. It is said that Pheasant Osman used to lie down in front of the Dolmabahçe Clock Tower and wait for his prey. When someone comes out and sets his own clock according to the clock on the tower Our Pheasant would approach right next to him and ask for money to set the clock. Of course, he would not neglect to sell the Dolmabahçe Clock Tower to those who thought this business was profitable.
In another trick, he used to get money from those who entered and exited Taksim Square. Once again, Pheasant, who is lying in a corner of the square, catches a glimpse of someone naive enough to take the trick, he immediately goes to her and says to her. He said that the square belonged to him and asked for money. Of course, he did not neglect to sell Taksim Square to those who think that this business is profitable.
The examples are endless. in metropolitan cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir No matter how many clock towers, squares, bridges, and historical buildings you can think of, you couldn’t finish them. He must have wanted to improve his profession for a while, so he introduced himself as a psychic and defrauded a lot of people by saying that he had found a husband for the girls staying at home.
He was about to sell the Galata Bridge, when he was caught:
Pheasant Osman, as always, was lying on the side of the Galata Bridge, watching his new prey. Just as he was about to sell the bridge, a sensitive citizen appeared. ‘This is the property of the state, whose property are you selling to whom?’ Of course he didn’t say At that time, a policeman witnessed the incident and arrested our Pheasant.
When he was arrested and brought to court, his crimes came to light one by one. Pheasant Osman’s defense is even stronger than Socrates’ defense has been;
“Sorry, Judge. As long as there are donkeys in the country to buy the Galata Bridge, I will sell this bridge.”
Listen to living with quote from Pheasant Osman:
Fortunately, despite this strong defense, the judge did not look down and He sent Pheasant Osman to prison. It is not certain, but according to the news published in a newspaper at that time, the famous swindler Pheasant Osman gave a lecture on “Living with Quotes” to other inmates while he was in prison.
He might indeed have, because, as we all know, these types are quite brazen. Pheasant Osman took his brazenness to another dimension and Aziz Nesin’s story Elephant Hamdi, saying that the phrase ‘Pheasant Osman pirrr’ offended him, and he even filed a lawsuit.
After repenting, he said in an interview that he was not the real swindler:
It is not known for sure, but rumor has it that Pheasant Osman repented of these affairs after he was released from prison and He started to live with honor by opening a tavern near Zeytinburnu. In 1984, at the age of 61, he died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Beyoğlu, where he always stayed. It is said that he was buried in the cemetery of the orphans because he did not carry an identity card. His words in an interview are thought-provoking;
“The people I defrauded were actually swindlers. I mean, the reason they approached me was to defraud me. I come in front of the man with ten bracelets in the evening. We are at the door of the jeweler’s door. The shop is closed. I explain my wife’s illness, I need to have the bracelets changed urgently, I go to the pharmacy on duty at that moment and say that I have to buy the drugs they want from the hospital. If they were genuine, the bracelets cost a thousand liras. I say I need 300 liras. I don’t care about the rest of the money, as long as my wife doesn’t stay on the operating table… The man thinks he can go to the jewelery store in the morning and change the bracelets for a thousand liras and earn 700 lira in a few hours. By the way. My foot man also shows up and he wants to buy the bracelets. The man is in a rush because his earning potential will be lost. He gives 300 liras and buys the bracelets, and I disappear. The next morning, when the man goes to the jewelry store and finds out that the bracelets are fake, he goes to the police station, saying, “I’ve been scammed. I’m wanted. They don’t say.” that her What was he thinking when he was thinking of buying a thousand lira bracelet for 300 lira? Clearly, he planned to scam me. I have not defrauded a single person in my life who has not tried to defraud me.”
One of the biggest scammers in history. Who is Pheasant Osman? We talked about his extraordinary life story by answering the question. What a strange country we live in, even our swindler has his own philosophy.