Nomads preserve their ancestral way of life

Nomadic sheep-breeders in eastern Turkey, spending the winter and spring in their tents, continue to preserve the generations-old livelihood they inherited from their forefathers.

In Dedepınari, a village near the city center of Elazığ province, seven families consisting of 35 people eke an existence in harsh conditions far from the blessings of modern technology.

Despite the difficult conditions, the families are content in their labor, even amid the multitude of chores that comes with the birth of new lambs in mid-February.

The nomads keep their animals in their pen throughout the day and week during the lambing period. They feed and take their animals to the meadows before sunrise and let the ewes meet their lambs. Otherwise, the offspring are kept away from their mothers.

With the opening of the pen gates, the lambs rush in excitement to near-instantly find their mothers among the hundreds of ewes. After suckling, they are once again separated from their mothers.

Set out in summer

Taking care to protect the newborns from the cold and disease, and making sure they are well-fed, the nomads set out with their herds for the plateaus in the Karlıova region of Bingöl province from their previous mountainous areas, trekking for two-week to find more fertile pastures for their animals.

In their daily lives, while men take care of animals, women take care of the children, clean the pens, prepare the water and food for animals when needed and perform household chores.

Besides their school lessons, children help their parents with the daily works, spend time with newborn lambs and play games around the tents.

'We have been nomads for centuries'

Huseyin Akalan, one of...

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