I always wanted to have a Turkish-English dictionary, but I had no luck whenever I looked for one in either America or Britain. My beloved got me one today, and in Zagreb of all places. It is a joy to browse through the hefty volume. Now that I happen to be in Croatia, I am especially interested in Croatian words that come directly from Turkish without any changes whatsoever. Here are a few examples, where the pronunciation is identical, even though “y” in Turkish is rendered as “j” in Croatian: boya for paint or color; budala for fool or idiot; kat for story or floor; maymun for monkey or ape; pamuk for cotton; taban for sole of a foot; tava for frying pan; and top for cannon. Now, most Croatians believe that there are many Turkish words in Serbian or Bosnian, but none in Croatian. Few people in Croatia are aware of the origin of the above words. Of course, there are many more like them, as well as words that are slightly changed in transfer. It appears that not even the most strident nationalism can stop languages from intermingling.