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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As soon as the mountains surrounding the village of Asagi Kayalar (Katune) in the Semdinli district of Turkey's Hakkari province turn white with snow, villagers take up traditional skiing techniques.
Situated 23 kilometers from Semdinli district, local villagers themselves shape the ash tree, which is common in the region and known for its durability, with molds, turning its wood into skis.
The skiers fasten the skis to their boots with a strap and a piece of rope, locally called "Liyan".
As soon as all the preparations are finished, they begin climbing up the mountain in large numbers to slide down the snow-covered hills.
This sport is traditionally practiced by the Katune villagers and passed on to the younger generations as a legacy.
According to the Katune villagers, the sport was introduced to the village after a local resident in 1960 went to the city of Kars to serve in the army, where he learned the sport from some of his friends.
Mizeffer Ozer is a wooden ski maker. When winter returns, he begins making wooden skis for fellow villagers.
"My grandfather, Haji Yousif, was a famous person. When he returned from the military, he brought this profession with him, which means that my grandfather had learned to make wooden skis in the military," Ozer said. "This skill has been passed down to us from our grandfather, and we continue to make it for our young ones."
"My friends and I are students. When it is a holiday, we prepare our skiing clothes and we come here every day," said Rohat Ozer, a villager from Katune.
"We have made these clothes with our own hands, he added, noting that they are also made of wood.
Katune’s traditional skiing game has attracted the attention of local authorities, as they have decided to arrange a festival for them shortly, an opportunity to attract tourists to the village and the region as a whole.
"It snows a lot in our village," said Bekir Ozer, a villager from Katune, adding that the community wants to build houses with trees."We want the state to give better houses to our youth, to support us more, and to pave the way for tourists to visit our village."
Around 2,000 people live in the village of Katune.
Situated 23 kilometers from Semdinli district, local villagers themselves shape the ash tree, which is common in the region and known for its durability, with molds, turning its wood into skis.
The skiers fasten the skis to their boots with a strap and a piece of rope, locally called "Liyan".
As soon as all the preparations are finished, they begin climbing up the mountain in large numbers to slide down the snow-covered hills.
This sport is traditionally practiced by the Katune villagers and passed on to the younger generations as a legacy.
According to the Katune villagers, the sport was introduced to the village after a local resident in 1960 went to the city of Kars to serve in the army, where he learned the sport from some of his friends.
Mizeffer Ozer is a wooden ski maker. When winter returns, he begins making wooden skis for fellow villagers.
"My grandfather, Haji Yousif, was a famous person. When he returned from the military, he brought this profession with him, which means that my grandfather had learned to make wooden skis in the military," Ozer said. "This skill has been passed down to us from our grandfather, and we continue to make it for our young ones."
"My friends and I are students. When it is a holiday, we prepare our skiing clothes and we come here every day," said Rohat Ozer, a villager from Katune.
"We have made these clothes with our own hands, he added, noting that they are also made of wood.
Katune’s traditional skiing game has attracted the attention of local authorities, as they have decided to arrange a festival for them shortly, an opportunity to attract tourists to the village and the region as a whole.
"It snows a lot in our village," said Bekir Ozer, a villager from Katune, adding that the community wants to build houses with trees."We want the state to give better houses to our youth, to support us more, and to pave the way for tourists to visit our village."
Around 2,000 people live in the village of Katune.
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