What has amazed me is the regular presence of the horse in daily life. It is something I would expect to find in Eastern Turkey where nomadism is still common, but I have seen horses everywhere i have gone. Of couse there are the expected 'tourist' equines who pull carriages around towns.

But it is in the routines of day-to-day life that I have found an unexpected number of horses. I have to say that it can be a little surprising to have a horse and cart come rattling past your car on the road, especially in a city. It happens all the time though as local farmers bring their produce to the markets. The prevalence of horse drawn vehicles on the roads is clear from the 'no carriages' sign on the major toll roads!

If you want to see first hand how the horse holds a place in both ancient and modern Turkey, visit the village of Herakleia on Lake Bafa at the foot of Mt. Latmos. The lunar landscape surrounding the village has been inhabited for millennia, and the 'modern' town is buit on and around the ancient remains. Don't be surprised if you have to walk through someones front yard to find the rubble. Amid the chronological hodge-lodge are horses, lots of them. These equines perform the same jobs they always have: herding livestock, working the fields, carrying crops and wood, and for transportation. They negotiate steep mountain paths and marshy fields with ease. Moreover, they are all sleek, shiny and fit. These horses aren't pets, they are working animals., but they play such an important role in daily life their care is of the utmost importance. You could hardly call them pampered, but they have food, shelter and snob they know very well. All in all the equids if Herakleia seem like a truly contented group, living just as their ancestors have for millennia. Makes you stop and think...

Cheers,

Carolyn