‘The Yörüks’ documentary, prepared for COP31, one of the most important summits in the world that will be hosted by Türkiye for the first time and will bring together the countries that are parties to the United Nations for climate action, was shared by COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum. Minister Kurum shared the documentary with the note: “In the world of the nomads, home is not just four walls; it is under the sky, the alignment of the stars, the lap of the forest. This life at the top of the Taurus Mountains once again reminds us of the simplest truth on the way to COP31: Our common home is the world…”
The lives of Sarıkeçili Yoruks living at the peak of the Taurus Mountains in Antalya, which is preparing to host COP31, were also opened to the world. With the documentary ‘The Yörüks’, published on the official accounts of the COP31 Presidency, it was explained how the bond of man with nature is based on centuries-old roots, an unshakable relationship and eternal gratitude, through the stories of Yörük families. COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum shared the documentary with the message: “Happiness is where home is. In the world of nomads, home is not just four walls; it is under the sky, the alignment of the stars, the lap of the forest. This life at the top of the Taurus Mountains once again reminds us of the simplest truth on the way to COP31: Our common home is the world…”
LIFE OF SARIKEÇİLİ YURUKS
The documentary tells the story of Yoruks walking from Central Asia to the Balkans, with a summary of 45 days of filming. The ‘quick-handed’ wife of Ramazan, who has 6 children, says, “You don’t become a nomad, you are born a nomad.” Because Yoruks are born in nature, grow up and continue their lives by adapting to the conditions of nature. For them, the meaning of mountains, stones, water, trees and goats goes far beyond daily life. Nature is not just an environment in which they live, it represents a guiding whole and a common home.
HE CARRIED THE GOAT ON HIS HEAD
One of the most exciting scenes in the documentary prepared for COP31, which also tells the story of Kuş Ali, is hidden in the story of Nazım, who lives in a cave with his wife and child. While Nazım is looking for his baby goat, Sabiş, he feels sad like a father who has lost his child. Then, when he finds him on the slope with a broken leg, he carries him on his head and takes him to the corral. Nazım’s wife summarizes this limit-pushing life in 3 sentences:
“Even though it is difficult, it does not seem difficult to us. We say these are the living conditions. We are trying to live.”
BALKAN YURUKS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN TOO
The finale of the documentary is made by the Yoruks who arrived in Macedonia. Hasan and his family, who are engaged in agriculture, tell in their pearl-like Turkish the roads they left behind and the destination they have reached. Farmer Hasan’s labor is completed with the words “Waiting for the sun, waiting for the water and waiting for the harvest.”
