PodcastTurkish shepherd lives alone in mountain for 17 years after traumatic theft incident
80-year-old Mehmet Çabuk has been living alone in a mountain for 17 years in Turkey’s southern Antalya province after his herd of goats was stolen overnight.
Duvar English
Mehmet Çabuk, an 80-year-old shepherd living in Turkey’s southern Antalya province, has been living in a mountain alone since a 2007 theft incident, Demirören News Agency reported.
Accordingly, Çabuk’s herd of goats was stolen overnight back in 2007. He said that he locked his goats in the corral, and when he woke up in the morning, they were gone.
“At night, the thieves brought a vehicle. They surrounded the goats with a wire. The goats entered the vehicle and they left. We couldn’t find them,” Çabuk said.
“I did not have a single pain in my body before (the theft). Since then I have been suffering from high blood pressure and shortness of breath,” he explained the traumatic side of the incident.
After his 150 goats were stolen, Çabuk resented people and started living in the mountain.
He spends time with his animals in the hut he built from wood in a valley. “I am not bored, I am used to it. If it were not for my goats, I could not stay here for an hour.” Çabuk’s hut is covered with a nylon tarp.
He has not left his place for 17 years except for grocery shopping twice a week. He reaches the Ulupınar neighborhood for grocery shopping after a 45-minute walk.
Çabuk also sleeps with his goats at night, wakes up in the early hours, makes fire, picks flowers, and takes long walks in the valley. He tells his relatives who come to visit him that he is fine and that they should not worry.