Thirsty Cows

Drinking Fountain with Cup

Just a few steps outside our door at the Outpost is this drinking fountain on the sidewalk. Fountains like this are found not only in Dogubeyazit but all thru Turkey with many similar to this one in Istanbul.
A common cup is normally attached by a chain or string. Often the cups will be made of hammered brass and some of them look to be decades old. We have used these fountains many times and it is not uncommon to wait for the people in front to finish drinking and hand you a full cup of water.

Some months ago I stopped at a roadside fountain where the water was flowing continuously...not able to find the cup I was just about to scoop the water up to drink it when I noticed a small engraving that mentioned the word "cow" in Turkish.
Bottom line? Don't drink from livestock trough.