The Internet has produced its first postmodern superhero in the form of MAHIR CAGRI, a 37-year-old man with a beak nose and, by his own admission, an interest in Ping-Pong, sex and playing the accordion. “I Kiss You!!!!!”–runs the greeting of the Mahir home page–a normal enough salutation in his native Turkey but a thrill to the hordes of fans who have sent e-mails recommending his site to friends. Cagri, who “invitates” any young women coming to his hometown of Izmir to stay in his home, has provoked Clinton-based parodies, flash animations and a large Web fan club. He told the Turkish press that the site was a joke perpetrated on him by a teenage hacker, and reported the theft of his original Web page to the police. Cagri, who follows Islamic custom by praying five times a day, says he’s alarmed by the thousands of e-mails he receives daily, mostly from women. Now he might be the one “invitated” abroad to barter his fame. He is currently weighing offers to go to the U.S., including one that might lead to a film deal.
–By Andrew Finkel/Istanbul