Hiking the Glenn Highway through Alaska. Published in Asphalt Pilgrims.
Paul Salopek
Every hundred miles Salopek pauses to record the landscape and a person he meets, assembling a global snapshot of humankind. Milestones reflect straight-line distances, but his walked distances are generally much longer. More on these waypoints here.
Every hundred miles Salopek pauses to record the landscape and a person he meets, assembling a global snapshot of humankind. Milestones reflect straight-line distances, but his walked distances are generally much longer. More on these waypoints here.
Night was falling. We walked fast to reach the nomads on Karacadağ Mountain. We thought we would find them up high, in the wild pastures. But they were everywhere. Their whistles and clicks blew across the plateau in a faint call and response that seemed needy, frightened, imploring. And equal. Animals and human beings were talking to each other here. It might have been the sheep that were leading their lost shepherds home.
A wraparound soundscape at this Milestone
This Milestone’s location on a map
Photos of the ground under Paul’s feet and the sky above at this Milestone
A brief question and answer with the first person Paul meets at this Milestone
Haci Menek
Shepherd, age 19
Who are you?
My name is Haci. I am a shepherd.
Where do you come from?
I’m from Karacadağ.
Where are you going?
I’m staying here. I like this job. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t do it, would I? I like looking at the land and the sheep. It makes me happy. What would I do otherwise? God knows.
Observations from social media from the Milestone location
In this region, just a few hours’ drive from the Syrian border, the presence of ISIS can be felt. Tweets point to attacks in Kobane, Syria, and protests in Diyarbakir, Turkey against perceived Turkish government support of ISIS forces. It is the season of Eid-al-Adha, the Islamic Feast of the Sacrifice, and Besiktas, a leading Turkish sports club, is doing well. One person tweets about losing love, the other about finding it. “Life is like a water way,” someone writes from Siverek, “there is always an obstacle but you always find a way, God willing…”
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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