You’ll need
Setting up
Two players stand facing each other and join hands above their heads: this is the gate. The others hold one another’s shoulders to form a single line.
The story of the game
This game takes both rhythm and patience: you walk in a line while the song is sung, and duck as you pass under the gate. Walking in single file is a child’s first practice at matching their steps to other people’s.
How to play
- The line winds round in a circle, passing under the gate, while everyone sings: “Aç kapıyı bezirgânbaşı, kapı hakkı ne verirsin? …” (Open the gate, chief merchant, what will you pay to pass?)
- At the end of the song, the gate brings its arms down, and whoever is underneath is caught.
- The caught player secretly chooses one of two sides (for example “apple or pear?”) and goes to stand behind that side.
- Once everyone has been caught, the two teams pull against each other, as in a tug of war.
Variations (2)
- Instead of the final tug, the two teams try to build the longest train.
- In small groups, let an adult and a child make the gate.
For parents
Children who don’t know the words will just walk in the first rounds and join in by the second. Talk beforehand about not pulling hard in the tug.
What to wear on their feet
Indoors, bare feet or house shoes; outdoors, shoes with a flexible sole.
Safety
Do the final tug on grass or a rug. Always play these games with an adult watching, in a way that suits your child’s age and the surface underfoot. Keep games with small pieces (marbles, five stones, mangala) away from children under 3.
