Turkish villagers forced to gather in mobile phone signal 'hot spots' to make a call

show ad

Deployed soldier desperately trying to get his beloved dog Baxter back after his girlfriend SOLD him on Craigslist - and now the new owners won't return him
'My dream was to be a star... now it is just to walk': Acrobats hurt when their 'human chandelier' fell 40ft on stage reveal their crippling injuries
Think you know how to cut a cake? Think again: Scientist reveals 100-year-old trick involving parallel lines and rubber bands
Schumacher 'had his eyes open and nodded' during 120 mile transfer from French intensive care ward to Swiss rehab facility
'Rarely has a US president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many': Dick Cheney launches scathing attack on Obama's handling of Iraq
EXCLUSIVE: 'Hundreds' of illegal immigrant children are being handed to relatives who are in the US illegally too, as HHS admits it makes NO EFFORT to find out their immigration status
Malia fetched coffee and got no special treatment during Hollywood job but was 'charming and delightful' says Halle Berry co-star
Benghazi 'mastermind' was captured by elite commandos who TRICKED way into his compound: Delta Force snatched suspect without firing a shot and are taking him to US to face death penalty
Dozens of members from notorious LA street gang are busted by 1,300 FBI agents and LAPD officers
Boy, 12, discovers mummified corpse that had been hanging inside closet in abandoned house for FIVE years
A pistol-blazing showdown, then came the cheers of the liberated: Historian ANTONY BEEVOR's gripping account of how the troops who survived D-Day battled their way through occupied France
Jailers remove shackles from Sudanese mother who gave birth while on death row for marrying a Christian
All is forgotten! Cheerleader who tried to divorce her parents graduates after winning $56,000 scholarship
'Surgeons operated to remove my ovaries - but found a 9lb BABY inside': Mother's shock after months of stomach cramps are due to pregnancy
'I have never questioned his love for my sister': L'Wren Scott's brother defends Mick Jagger after his estranged sister calls rocker a 'womanizer'
Obama's sagging foreign policy rating drops to an all-time low as a majority of Americans say they no longer believe he's capable of leading the country
Naked woman, 34, 'vandalized and flooded stranger's home before hiding in the closet'
Home at last! Justina Pelletier is pictured as she leaves state custody after 16-month battle between her parents and doctors
'The buck stops with the President': Hillary Clinton distances herself from Obama over decision not to arm Syrian rebels as neighboring Iraq deals with extremist spillover
'Send them back!' Hillary says wave of illegal immigrant children being housed on US bases should be 'reunited with families'
Revealed: Bill and Hillary Clinton are dodging death taxes on their homes despite campaigning to raise it
'I didn't do it when I was young, I'm not gonna start now': Hillary says she is 'absolutely not' not interested in trying pot (unlike Bill)
First the boys and now the girls sign up to fight ISIS: TWO MILLION volunteer as jihadists 'seize Iraq's biggest oil refinery and kidnap more than 100 foreigners'
'U dnt need much, u get wages here, u get food provided and place to stay': The shocking travel guide Western ISIS fighters are using to lure others to wage Jihad in Iraq

Mountainous villages in Başkale district, near Iran, cut off from the world
Their residents climb half a mile up the hillside to talk to their loved ones
Dozens of them gather by the same hilltop water tower at peak times

Published: 13:57 EST, 17 June 2014 | Updated: 16:06 EST, 17 June 2014

View
comments

Getting a mobile signal can be an uphill battle - something these villagers know better than anyone.

The isolated residents in eastern Turkey have no choice but to climb half a mile to a remote water tower when they want to call their loved ones.

Several villages are thought to have the same problem in the Başkale district, near the Iranian border - and the residents say they are fed up.

I found signal! It's hard for these residents of the remote eastern Turkish district of Baskale to have a phone call in private - as they all have to troop half a mile up a hill together to get signal on their mobiles

'Hello? I'm on a mountain!' The region is isolated near the Iranian border and can be cut off in the winter snow

The 70-mile journey along a remote mountain highway to the nearest city, Van, means they are worried they will be isolated if something disastrous happens.

With heavy snow in the winter and droughts in the summer, some families say they have now taken the decision to move away.

More...

Turkey's mobile phone operators are in talks with the villages about setting up a better service for them.

But for now, a daily hike is the only way for these men to talk to those they hold dearest.

Photographer Özkan Bilgin, who works in the city of Van, captured the unusual ritual on camera.

Solution: The villagers are in talks with Turkey's mobile operators to try and get more reliable coverage

Difficulty: The villagers' predicament was captured by photographer Özkan Bilgin, who works in the city of Van

He told MailOnline: 'When there is snow, rain and storms they cannot leave for the outside world... In emergency situations the health care team do not reach the villagers.

'Despite all the difficulties they continue with their lives, but because of the hardships some have resorted to migrating to the city or to other regions.

'Around 15 out of 50 households have migrated because of the difficulties.'

MOST WATCHED NEWS VIDEOS

Comments (35)

Share what you think

View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

Dave B -Brit ex-pat, Uxbridge Canada, Canada, 4 hours ago

They don't have a decent meal for their family yet they have a cellphone....Jeez!

Click to rate

somebodyelse, London, 2 hours ago

What makes you think they don't have a decent meal for their family? Don't be so patronising and prejudiced, making such assumptions without any facts.

Click to rate

anonymous13, Watford, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago

They must all be on EE

Click to rate

j3177, London, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago

hahaha funny :)

Click to rate

veryangryman, somewhere, 6 hours ago

HELLO MEHMET,GET MY BRITISH PASSPORT NOW,THEY DONT KNOW THAT I DONT LIVE IN THE COUNTRY NOW BUT THANKS TO ALL THERE BICKERING AS USUAL I SOON WILL BE....

Click to rate

Ex Pat USA, USA, 6 hours ago

Same in North Wales ...

Click to rate

Whatever, Wolves, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago

I have an idea for them, have underground phone cables runnin to set positions and attached to telephones. May you could put the phone in a box for privacy or if it rains or something?

Click to rate

Figjam, london, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago

Just something hilarious about this.

Click to rate

greyskye, skye, 7 hours ago

Non story written by staffers who live in the cities and have no idea of how most rural people live in the UK All these companies offering mobile internet use / DAB radio fast internet should look at there advertising stating the limitations which for millions is totally rubbish

Click to rate

Squishibits, Sydney, 7 hours ago

Ha! I have to do this and I live in Suburbia just outside Sydney. Vodafone say I should have perfect reception OUTDOORS, but need to buy a special aerial to get reception indoors! Standing on my letterbox to send a text message sent me straight off to Telstra instead, where I get perfect reception INDOORS 24/7.