Lunch with a tribe of nomads

Before returning home from the Livestock Market, Mehmet took us high into the K mountains in search of a Nomad Family, this was not a pre-arranged thing and we stood the chance of not seeing a family at all.

Nomad live for 7 to 8 months of the year in the high country grazing their animals in pastures and move frequently as food for animals going out. The camp is always near the water and live in different tents in all shapes and sizes.

We were lucky that after about an hour's drive we could see a camp in a flat area, it seemed to consist of about five tents as likely to become a family.

When we got out the car Mehmet saw a turtle on the road, keep in mind we are probably over 3000 feet high, stinking hot and not near water. Go figure. I always thought Turtles need water.

We walked for 15 minutes or so to the camp and when we got all the women and children who have been out in the open just disappeared into the tent and we do not see them again, although I

could hear the children behind a woven screen we sit next to.

Mehmet had a couple of bottles of fizzy drinks and offered them to the two men to give to their children and they in turn invited us to lunch with them

The nomads were Kurdish and Mehmet talked easily with those who pass on the questions we had and their questionjs to us.

One thing we've found are these people always want to know how old we are and how many children we have, our total of six, of course, so that always goes down well with a grin and well done nod from the men.

But it is pale in comparison to the total children between these two men are up to 21, somewhere in amongst that there were three wives as well.

Lunch was served by one of the woman's people consisted of bread, different from the flat bread we'd had until now more of a Pide bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese and honey that they collected from their own bees food was delicious and we washed down the decayed more copper Cay.

Mehmet and the men passed the time smoking tobacco Kurdish rollie as Sheryll and I were also offered a smoke. The men said it was good tobacco

We stopped for an hour and then thanked them for their hospitality and took us back across the scrubby bank to look out for snakes.

There are more pictures at the bottom of this page

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Submited at Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 at 6:00 pm on Middle East by blum
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