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Alevi faith protects rare goats in eastern Turkey

The shy wild goats in the mountains of eastern Turkey enjoy a protected status both from the government and the still-strong traditions of the local Alevi population.
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Stretching along the Tunceli-Erzincan Road in a deep mountainous valley in eastern Turkey, the Kutu Stream is hosting its last visitors for the year. The colder the weather gets, the deeper the silence in the picturesque valley. The clientele of the restaurants along the stream is also dwindling, but the wild nature of the region remains spectacular. Two small groups of tourists found themselves the lucky audience of a unique spectacle on a rainy day in late September as they waited for their meal, the region’s famous trout, in a roadside restaurant.

“Have you seen our goats?” the waiter asked as he took the orders, pointing to the rugged cliffs outside the window. Tiny motions suddenly became recognizable in what had seemed a still landscape a moment ago. Camouflaged by fur almost identical to the ground, about a dozen animals were grazing on the rocks. They were no ordinary goats, the waiter was quick to point out before anyone mistook them for just any herd. “They are mountain goats special to Dersim,” he said, using Tunceli’s older name.

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