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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Passionate about honey, Bakir Khan Shamzini and his men from time to time pack their belongings and head to the mountainous regions of Turkey's Kurdish southeast Semdinli to harvest the region's highly prized wild honey.
The honey hunter says what he does is an extremely demanding task, full of danger.
"Indeed, we have been involved in the honey business for many years now, especially harvesting wild honey on cliffsides and in trees. Today, we came to the Sose cliffs with a crew from Rudaw. If God allows, we will harvest beehives," Shamzini said before descending off the cliff.
"You must conquer your fears. It takes guts to do this job. If you do not have the morale to do it, you cannot do it at all because your hands or feet may shake, so you may not be able to do it," the wild honey hunter added.
Shamzini and his three companions at first make serious preparations to make sure they will safely carry out the work.
"Now, we will lower a rope. I will tie up my body with a rope and will descend. This rope is designed for mountainous tasks. It is very strong. They will help me descend off the cliff. I carry all the essentials with me including hammers," he said. "We will not harm the bees at all. We will very gently harvest it, God willing and take out the honey."
After they are done setting up, Shamzini hangs off the cliffside of a scary rock face with a rope, breaking a beehive and cutting out of the rock as soon as he reaches the spot and the nests.
At the top of the cliff, his friends glued their eyes to Shamzini to make sure that the rope that descended as deep as 60 meters holding their friend high up stayed tight.
As the mission was successfully accomplished, Shamzini told Rudaw who had embedded the team that he had mastered the art of harvesting wild honey for many years now.
Semdinli is famous for its honey, the most famous of which is the wild one, collected in the mountains and cliffsides.
One kilogram of wild honey sells for around 2,000 Turkish lira (about $73).
Shamzini and friends obtained five kilograms of honey. He says in some other places, they happened to obtain up to 20 kilograms.
Shamzini and his men say they only harvest half of the honey from any beehive they discover to prevent the bees from dying.
"Here is the harvested honey. Thanks be to God, it is an amazing honey. This is the original honey... It depends on the hives. In some hives, we harvest 10 kilograms of honey. In some others, we may harvest just two kilograms or five kilograms," Salim Shangur, a member of Shamzini's team said while looking thrilled as they displayed their successful harvest.
Semdinli is a predominantly Kurdish district in the Hakkari Province of southeast Turkey.
The honey hunter says what he does is an extremely demanding task, full of danger.
"Indeed, we have been involved in the honey business for many years now, especially harvesting wild honey on cliffsides and in trees. Today, we came to the Sose cliffs with a crew from Rudaw. If God allows, we will harvest beehives," Shamzini said before descending off the cliff.
"You must conquer your fears. It takes guts to do this job. If you do not have the morale to do it, you cannot do it at all because your hands or feet may shake, so you may not be able to do it," the wild honey hunter added.
Shamzini and his three companions at first make serious preparations to make sure they will safely carry out the work.
"Now, we will lower a rope. I will tie up my body with a rope and will descend. This rope is designed for mountainous tasks. It is very strong. They will help me descend off the cliff. I carry all the essentials with me including hammers," he said. "We will not harm the bees at all. We will very gently harvest it, God willing and take out the honey."
After they are done setting up, Shamzini hangs off the cliffside of a scary rock face with a rope, breaking a beehive and cutting out of the rock as soon as he reaches the spot and the nests.
At the top of the cliff, his friends glued their eyes to Shamzini to make sure that the rope that descended as deep as 60 meters holding their friend high up stayed tight.
As the mission was successfully accomplished, Shamzini told Rudaw who had embedded the team that he had mastered the art of harvesting wild honey for many years now.
Semdinli is famous for its honey, the most famous of which is the wild one, collected in the mountains and cliffsides.
One kilogram of wild honey sells for around 2,000 Turkish lira (about $73).
Shamzini and friends obtained five kilograms of honey. He says in some other places, they happened to obtain up to 20 kilograms.
Shamzini and his men say they only harvest half of the honey from any beehive they discover to prevent the bees from dying.
"Here is the harvested honey. Thanks be to God, it is an amazing honey. This is the original honey... It depends on the hives. In some hives, we harvest 10 kilograms of honey. In some others, we may harvest just two kilograms or five kilograms," Salim Shangur, a member of Shamzini's team said while looking thrilled as they displayed their successful harvest.
Semdinli is a predominantly Kurdish district in the Hakkari Province of southeast Turkey.
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