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Photos: Turkey’s 90-year-old lottery has thousands of takers

Nimet Abla in Istanbul, arguably turkey’s most popular lottery stand has drawn large numbers of Turks for is annual lottery over the 90-years it’s been in operation. To stand out from the more than 15,500 authorised national lottery ticket sellers, Nimet Abla relies on its reputation as a lucky charm. This year’s New Year jackpot worth 70 million Turkish lira has also drawn thousands, eager to test their luck in testing economic times, ignoring what is a growing chorus of the pious who consider gambling a sin.

Updated on: Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM IST

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A security staff member stands guard as people queue to buy lottery tickets at the Nimet Abla lottery stand in Istanbul. Each year in the run-up to the New Year draw, thousands of people flock to the most famous lottery stand in Istanbul, drawn by the promise on display: “Nimet Abla will make you win.” (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

A security staff member stands guard as people queue to buy lottery tickets at the Nimet Abla lottery stand in Istanbul. Each year in the run-up to the New Year draw, thousands of people flock to the most famous lottery stand in Istanbul, drawn by the promise on display: “Nimet Abla will make you win.” (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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For 90 years, the lottery booth has drawn large numbers of Turks, filled with hope in these troubled economic times, largely because it has convinced people that it is there that they have the best chance of winning. And so the people flock to the booth, ignoring what is a growing chorus of the pious who consider gambling a sin. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

For 90 years, the lottery booth has drawn large numbers of Turks, filled with hope in these troubled economic times, largely because it has convinced people that it is there that they have the best chance of winning. And so the people flock to the booth, ignoring what is a growing chorus of the pious who consider gambling a sin. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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Excited customers take pictures in front of the ticket counters in Eminonu district, close to one of the most beautiful Ottoman mosques in Istanbul, Yeni Cami. With a waiting time of up to three or four hours at the weekend, those wishing to buy tickets have to be patient. Kemal, a retired man said that he have been trying his luck with Nimet Abla for 50 years but has never won so far. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

Excited customers take pictures in front of the ticket counters in Eminonu district, close to one of the most beautiful Ottoman mosques in Istanbul, Yeni Cami. With a waiting time of up to three or four hours at the weekend, those wishing to buy tickets have to be patient. Kemal, a retired man said that he have been trying his luck with Nimet Abla for 50 years but has never won so far. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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A security staff member stands guard as people queue to buy lottery tickets. Dozens of other security guards like this one formed a cordon around the stall to stop queue-jumpers, redirecting them towards the end of the queue which extends for several hundreds of metres. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

A security staff member stands guard as people queue to buy lottery tickets. Dozens of other security guards like this one formed a cordon around the stall to stop queue-jumpers, redirecting them towards the end of the queue which extends for several hundreds of metres. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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Nimet Abla, which means “Big Sister Nimet” in Turkish, owes its name to Melek Nimet Ozden. A formidable businesswoman, she ruled over the lottery world for half a century, after selling her first ticket in 1928. Following her death, her nephew, who is today called Nimet Abi (Big Brother Nimet), took over the business. Nimet Ozden (2R), 64, says they sold three million tickets last year, “a tenth of all lottery tickets in Turkey”. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

Nimet Abla, which means “Big Sister Nimet” in Turkish, owes its name to Melek Nimet Ozden. A formidable businesswoman, she ruled over the lottery world for half a century, after selling her first ticket in 1928. Following her death, her nephew, who is today called Nimet Abi (Big Brother Nimet), took over the business. Nimet Ozden (2R), 64, says they sold three million tickets last year, “a tenth of all lottery tickets in Turkey”. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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Along with the historic booth in Eminonu, Nimet Abla has two other outlets selling tickets in Istanbul, to which customers flock from all over Turkey. This year the New Year jackpot is worth 70 million Turkish lira (around 11.5 million euros). One ticket costs 70 lira (11.5 euros), but there is also “a half-ticket” or even a “quarter of a ticket”. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

Along with the historic booth in Eminonu, Nimet Abla has two other outlets selling tickets in Istanbul, to which customers flock from all over Turkey. This year the New Year jackpot is worth 70 million Turkish lira (around 11.5 million euros). One ticket costs 70 lira (11.5 euros), but there is also “a half-ticket” or even a “quarter of a ticket”. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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Like seagulls swirling around a trawler returning from a day’s fishing, street vendors try to snatch customers from Nimet Abla. To stand out from the more than 15,500 authorised national lottery ticket sellers, Nimet Abla relies on its reputation as a lucky charm. So even if Nimet Abla has not sold the winning ticket for the end-of-year draw since 2009, its power of attraction remains intact. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

Like seagulls swirling around a trawler returning from a day’s fishing, street vendors try to snatch customers from Nimet Abla. To stand out from the more than 15,500 authorised national lottery ticket sellers, Nimet Abla relies on its reputation as a lucky charm. So even if Nimet Abla has not sold the winning ticket for the end-of-year draw since 2009, its power of attraction remains intact. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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But not everyone has caught lottery fever. In this majority-Muslim country, last year, Turkey’s Diyanet religious affairs agency issued its opinion on the lottery, saying that although it was legal, it was “haram” -- illicit from an Islamic point of view, like all gambling. Melek Nimet Ozden took care of her image as a pious woman, undertaking the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia several times and building a mosque in her name. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

But not everyone has caught lottery fever. In this majority-Muslim country, last year, Turkey’s Diyanet religious affairs agency issued its opinion on the lottery, saying that although it was legal, it was “haram” -- illicit from an Islamic point of view, like all gambling. Melek Nimet Ozden took care of her image as a pious woman, undertaking the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia several times and building a mosque in her name. (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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A man buys the lottery tickets. The games of chance generate a lot of revenue for the Turkish state. Last year, they brought in 1.4 billion lira (230 million euros), according to the Turkish national lottery body (MPI). Nimet Abi is aware of the criticism, but he adds, as he looks out at the line of impatient customers: “I already feel lucky enough as it is.” (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

Updated on Dec 28, 2018 1:07 PM

A man buys the lottery tickets. The games of chance generate a lot of revenue for the Turkish state. Last year, they brought in 1.4 billion lira (230 million euros), according to the Turkish national lottery body (MPI). Nimet Abi is aware of the criticism, but he adds, as he looks out at the line of impatient customers: “I already feel lucky enough as it is.” (Yasin Akgul / AFP)

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