Lunch with a Nomad Tribe

---

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.

The Nomad's live for 7 to 8 months of the year in the high country, grazing their animals in mountain pastures and moving on frequently as the food for the animals runs out. They always camp near water and live in various tents of all shapes and sizes.

We were lucky as after about an hours drive we could see a camp in a flat area it seemed to consist of about 5 tents so probably would be a family.

As we got out of the car Mehmet spotted a turtle on the road, bear in mind we are probably at over 3000 meters high, stinking hot and nowhere near water, .go figure. I always thought Turtles needed water.

We walked for 15 mins or so to the camp and as we arrived all the women and children who had been out in the open just disappeared into the tents and we didnt see them again, though I could hear the children behind a woven screen we sitting beside.

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

The Nomads were Kurdish and Mehmet spoke easily with them passing on the questions we had and their questionjs to us.

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

However it is pale by comparison as the total children between these two men added up to 21, somewhere in amongst that there was 3 wives as well.

Lunch was served by one of the woman folk, It consisted of Bread, different from the flat bread we had been having up until now more like a Pide bread, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese and honey that they collected from their own bees The food was scrumptious and we flushed it down wither several cups of Cay.

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

We stayed for an hour and then thanked them for their hospitality and made our way back across the scrubby bank keeping an eye out for snakes.

---

Photos

Nomad Man
One of the two men we met at the Nomad Camp he is 33 years old and has 11 children

The Other Nomad Man
He is also 33 years old and has 10 children