MIGRATIONS TO PLATEAUS

About Fethiye - Folklore

As soon as the winter is over, the nomads start their preparations to move to the postures. The neighbouring groups get in touch with each other and fix o date. The young girls wash their outfits; the shepherds renew the broken bells of the cattle; the young men clean their rifles, and the horses of the chief are groomed. These days are like a feast among the nomads. The inhabitanta, who have been in lethargy until then, start to work feverishly. The chief assigns various, tasks to each member.The elderly women prepare the cloths of the camels the young brides dust off the carpels, giggling young girls sew the bells to the decorative harnesses of the camels; in short, everybody contributes to the preparations for the migration. The cattle, camels and lambs seem to share the |oy of the spring. On the day of departure, the relevant equipment is loaded into the saddlebags and sacks which are tied up in bundles. The brides ore decked out and the young girls tilt their fez.

The chief of the tribe chooses a young girl to be the leader of the train which is a great honour, because that girl is sure to be engaged during the course of that year. The youths are all set to woo the girl chosen as the leader. Until the termination of the- migration, the leader of the train is the most beloved person of the nomads.

The camel at the head of the caravan is decorated with carpets, rugs and bells. The girl chosen as the leader has a headdress with her fez ornamented with a crest, and she takes hold of the harness of the came leading the caravan. All along the way, the youths compete with each other for the hand of the girl and thus the immigration to the postures starts off.

The route to the pastures is as'follows: The fountain at Dont-the fountain at Cırpi-the cistern and caravanserai within the cemetery at Mengen-the caravansarai at Kizilgedik-the bridge at Kemer-Karatoplar-Sarıyer-the caravansarai at Kavakli- the Tesbili mansion-the Deniz spring-Naldoken-the caravansarai and cistern at Dereyol-Basgecit-the Alyman Aga caravansarai-Karabel. The song "yayla yollannda koldim yaliniz (left on my own on the roads to the pastures) is all about the migration to the pastures in the spring, the return to the lower plains in autumn, the difficulties encountered on the way, the anguish, worries, love affairs, choice of prospective brides, being left behind, distresses and the late arrivals to overnight stops.

This popular song was recorded by renowned reseacher Muzaffer Sansozen, who heard Kocek Mustafa play it, and it was included in the archives of the Turkish Broadcasting Organization.

Similarli, the songs such as Damardini Dolastim (I toured Damardi), Akdag Dalaman'in alt yam boston (the lower part of Dalaman is melon field), Cekirgenin kanadi (the wing of the grasshopper) were also performed by Köçek Mustafa for Muzaffer Sansozen who recorded them for the archives.

Our Pastures:

Seki Basin: From the Fethiye and Kemer vicinity, 22 villages migrate to the Seki basin. The main migration is along the route described above, leading to Seki. The migrating villagers have houses both on the pastures and along the coast. The migrations were undertaken in sequence to avoid blocking the roads.

Akdağ Pastures: The famous Akdag, with an altitude of 3024  meters, has many wide pastures where many villages from Fethiye spend the summer. A lot of villagers from the vicinity of Kemer and E_en went up to the pastures on Akdag during the summer. On the two vast plains at the summit of Akdag there are two mosques. On Fridays, travelling from a distance of one or two hours, villagers come here to pray, as well as for shopping from the peddlers setting up shop at this point. Karanfilli Pasture: is located at the boundary of çameli, very close to the Tuzia saddle. People from Gocek and Gokceovacık come up to this pasture.

Koru Pasture: is the closest, to Fethiye, located within the boundaries of Arpacyk on the Cameli-Fethiye highway. It is reached by turning into. the road at Buzaotu of Koru.

Kavacik Pasture: The inhabitants of the Yurek district of the Sogutlu Village come up to this pasture. Kirkpinar Pasture: is located at 100 meters on the road which turns to the right at the point nearest to the boundary of Çameli.lt is renowned with its ice-cold waters. It is called Kirkpinar (Fourty Spring) because there are many water beds in the area.

Dokuz Goller: (Nine Lakes) is located on the valley between the Mendos Mountain and Babadag, facing Esen. The villagers from Kabaagac used to come up to this pasture.

Karumca Saddle: The inhabitants of Gurmele, Pasali, Kargi and Yaniklar villages used to migrate to the pastures on the Karumca Saddle