Two mountain climbers, Haider and Atish, were climbing Mount Hasan in Turkey. Their hike was going like a regular affair, but far away, they spotted something strange. Far away, in the middle of mountains, there was... a house!
The location of it was unbelievable - it was situated amidst the complete wilderness. When they finally approached the stonehouse, the climbers discovered a family living there. Why would people choose to live an isolated life for 80 years? What could be the reason? The truth left climbers stunned!
The stonehouse
The climbers then decided to inch closer to the stonehouse because they were curious to know that who would live in such a remote place. When they reached closer, they realized that the stonehouse was indeed inhabited by people.
There were cows and goats surrounding the house and one of the climbers even noticed someone running inside the house. But they never imagined the weird story behind this occurrence in the middle of nowhere!
Hid inside their shelter
The inhabitants of the house were keen enough to notice the uninvited guests. They didn’t want any interaction and were sort of scared as well. They immediately ran inside their house and hid.
The climbers couldn’t dare to approach and talk to this family. It was then mutually decided by the two climbers that they would return back to where they initially came from, until ...
Climbers’ curiosity
They might have started their descend back to their base camp but the climbers wanted to know more about the family. Especially because of the fact that the nearest settlement to that strange stonehouse was days away.
They couldn’t make sense of it that why would someone want to live in such a remote place. They wanted to know more about the strange inhabitants, and they were about to find out a striking truth!
Old man
Luckily, on their way back they found an old man who looked like a local. When they asked him about the stonehouse, the old man became curious too. He wanted to see the stonehouse as well.
The old man knew the Turkish dialect very well. He was sure that he would be able to interact with the strange family, if the need arises. What the trio decided to do next would blow your mind!
They started climbing, again!
That same day, the trio decided to start climbing again. However, this time around their pace was significantly reduced as the old man was constantly complaining about fatigue.
But the old man was determined enough to make the climb because he wanted to know more about the mountain dwellers. The trio had no idea that their second meeting with the family would turn out to be a memorable one!
Interaction with the family
They reached the slope where the stonehouse was situated and the old man approached the house. He started talking to the head of the family in their local dialect. The family was a bit scared at first but then they became comfortable.
The old man started asking them about their history and how they ended up there. Their story would absolutely blow your mind, like it did with the climbers and the old man.
Ancient roots
As it turned out, their family’s history dated back to 17th century. A bunch of Turkish nomads decided to settle down amidst the mountains.
They built a stonehouse and moreover, they also started a farmhouse there. Since then, the descendants of that same family have been living in that stonehouse.
Several generations passed
The head of the family also revealed to the old man that several generations have passed in this particular stonehouse. Many generations of these incredible people were born and died in the same stonehouse.
They were all buried there as well. The head of the family also revealed that he is 80 years old and has only stepped out of that vicinity on one, single occasion.
To marry, what else?
The only time the head of the family ventured out of this wilderness was when he attempted to find a wife. The young man found a distant relative and by some miracle, the woman quickly agreed to marry him.
Not only this, it didn’t take long for the head of the family to convince her to move back with him in that remote stonehouse.
10 children
Since their marriage, the old couple has had 10 children. But the story doesn’t culminate here. Instead, it gets even more interesting.
5 of their children didn’t want to live in such challenging conditions so they ran away. They ran away to settle in big Turkish cities while five of them still stay with their parents in this remote stonehouse.
Children’s age
Sadly, none of the children who ran away from their native place ever returned to meet their parents. But the old couple looked content to the climbers as they still had 5 children to look after them.
The youngest one was 28-year-old and the oldest one was 37-year-old at that time. Despite their age, none of the children speaks Turkish!
Can’t read or write
Given the fact that none of them ever attended a single day in school, neither of the children know how to read or write. They have no idea about the outside world and how much it has progressed. If this isn’t surprising enough for you, wait for it.
Not even a single member of their family knows the name of the country they reside in! As more and more information was revealed, the climbers were left scratching their heads in disbelief.
Huge birds
When the family sees an aeroplane occasionally passing over the mountains, they believe it to be a huge bird. Not only this but they don’t seem to understand the concept of a car.
It is sort of mind-boggling that they still live in medieval times when the rest of the world is progressing towards the future at a lightning pace.
Nearest settlement
The old couple used to leave their house occasionally, leaving their children at home. They used to visit the nearest settlement which is around three days walk away.
Now they send their children to barter goods for animal skins. They exchange milk, skins and sheep for things that they can use at home.
Water condition
The living condition of the stonehouse family might seem a little disturbing because they cook food on open fire and collect water from a nearby stream.
And when it gets icy cold in winters, they have to melt snow to obtain drinking water. Is there any point in talking about electricity and sewage?
Solar power
They might be miles away from human beings’ technological advancement but progress has found its way to this remote location as well. The family recently acquired a solar panel by trading food and animal skins.
They now have electricity in two of the rooms of their stonehouse. It did take some time for them to figure out how to acquire energy from solar panels but they have finally managed to do so.
Bartering is the only way
Bartering is an archaic way of obtaining goods in exchange for something that you already have. Bartering hasn’t become completely obsolete in this modern age because it is still being practised by people living in remote areas.
The concept of paper money is almost alien to this particular family.
Concept of paper money
When the old man explained the concept of paper money to the family, all the members were completely baffled! They couldn’t grasp the concept of handing over a piece of paper and getting goods in return.
The old man had to devote a considerable amount of time to clear the concept of currency.
Decided to find the children
The climbers were so astounded by this strange family of mountain dwellers that they decided to find their children who ran away years ago. They started the climb down and started chalking out the plan of how to track down their children.
They wanted to reunite the family because they could sense that their parents were missing their children who ran away.
Successful track down
After reaching their respective places, the climbers started the process of tracking down the runaway children.
With the help of social media, authorities and the general public, they finally managed to track down all the children. The whole story was approaching a very interesting turn.
Their children’s lives
When the climbers got to know about the runaway children, they got to learn some interesting stuff about them. One of the children managed to get a college degree and every one of them had a job in popular cities.
All this while, they remained in touch with each other. They used to talk to each other on a regular basis and sometimes meet as well.
Decided to visit their parents
The runaway children banded together once again after the climbers convinced them to visit their parents, just once.
They took a mutual decision together that they had to go down to that remote area once again and convince their parents to shift towards civilization. What unfolded later was a complete revelation.
Rest of his life
The head of the family was very ecstatic when the children landed at their place. He was shocked at first but then started crying out of happiness.
The children tried convincing him to move to a better, more accessible place but the head of the family was hell-bent on staying at the same place. He wanted to stay in the same stonehouse for the rest of his life.
Able to recover documents
With the help of some of their relatives and their children, the old couple and other family members finally recovered their official documents. This process opened a lot of doors for their family.
The head of the family could now access his pension money. Two of his five children also received disability benefits. Even after this, the head of the family wasn’t excited about the money.
They now have several tools
Even though their parents had no interest in improving their lifestyle, the civilized children still provided them with some important tools.
This unique family now has a furnace, garden tools and a large canister to collect rainfall.
Great help
These things might seem useless to us but they have provided great help to the family by making their life comparatively easier.
Thanks to the efforts to the two climbers, the family now leads a better life but more importantly, they are now reunited with each other.
Visit their parents regularly
The 5 children might not have stayed back with their parents but they make sure to visit them on a regular basis.
However, the residents of the house still don’t want to leave their stonehouse because their ancestors have been at the same place.
Maybe it is for the best
If we think in that way, maybe it is for the best. Maybe the family doesn’t want to face the harsh realities of civilized life.
Maybe they just want to preserve their legacy by not letting it get maligned by the externalities.