yacht times

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Best luxury yacht: 7 ultimate luxury cruisers you can buy

The best specialist yachts: new and interesting designs

5 top tips: Sailing upwind in survival conditions

The new inflatable tech that could cause a revolution in paddleboards, kayaks and more

Fighting freezing temperatures on a yacht to find tranquility in the San Juan Islands

Extraordinary boats: The Yachting World Diamond from design to deck

Bavaria C46 review: More accommodation and better performance?

Best catamaran and multihull: We sail the very best yachts on two and three hulls

Final week for applications for women’s Ocean 50 trimaran programme

Air Yacht 80 a dream package

Is your anti-foul choice contributing to Global warming?

Boundless adventure: The Outremer 52

Taking bluewater cruising to a new level

Advice on making an Atlantic crossing from people who have done it

Great seamanship: Chasing the Dawn

How do you solve problems at sea? Learning from the best is a good way to start

10 women doing great things in competitive sailing right now

Best family yacht: our pick of the best yachts for sailing with the family

‘Nothing is set in stone until the finish gun’ – Nikki Henderson

Clarisse Crémer cleared following Vendée cheating accusations

‘What I learned from the America’s Cup event in Jeddah’ – Matt Sheahan

Catamarans and multihulls.

Caudrelier wins first ever solo round the world race in foiling Ultim

Nautitech 48 Open first look: last design of legend Marc Lombard

Some of the world’s biggest, coolest catamarans go racing

Six solo skippers ready to race 100ft foiling multihulls around the world

Sailing across the atlantic.

Sailing from Annapolis to Iceland on the viking routes of old

How to prepare for an Atlantic crossing with the ARC

What’s the best autopilot kit for a transatlantic?

The ‘easy’ way to sail across the Atlantic?

New mutihulls take on an Atlantic crossing

How to prepare for an Atlantic crossing

Extraordinary boats.

Extraordinary boats: Maluka – restoration of a 1932 classic

World’s fastest monohull: Malizia-Seaexplorer IMOCA 60

Extraordinary boats: Infiniti 52 – an incredible story and boat

Falken restoration: Round the World racer turned perfect cruiser

Extraordinary boats: Sailing the sustainable Ecoracer 25

Extraordinary boats: The Sam Manuard foiling mini 6.50

Practical cruising.

Great seamanship: Slow Boat to Uruguay

How to find the right weather window

How to manoeuvre a yacht under power

Great seamanship: Bound for Cape Horn

Allures 40.9 vs Ovni 400: French aluminium centreboarders go head-to-head

CNB 66 yacht test: Intoxicating cruiser is a cut above the mainstream

Saffier SE37 Lounge test: A veritable supercar of the seas

Swan 65 test: The triumphant return of a true sailing icon

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home
• The Superyacht Directory
• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• Boat Pro Home
• Pricing Plan
• Superyacht Insight
• Product Features
• Premium Content
• Testimonials
• Global Order Book
• Tenders & Equipment

Latest from BOAT International

Boatpro news, upcoming events, from our partners, sponsored listings, yachts for sale, brokerage news, latest yachts for charter, destinations.

Testimonials

Book a Demo

The Superyacht Market Intelligence System

First-class intelligence platform to help yacht professionals and owners making informed and impactful decisions in the yachting industry., tracking the yacht market is hard and time consuming., did you miss out on the deal.

SYT iQ tracks the market every day, used yachts listed for sale, price reductions, new yachts for sale, latest sales - never miss out on a deal anymore!

How much time did you waste collecting data?

How many hours per year are you looking for data on the market, making Excel files, searching for images in presentations. Don't waste anymore time - just login SYT iQ.

Is your data accurate and complete?

Are you sure the data you have is accurate? Do you find multiple sources with different specifications? Want to have confirmation SYT IQ is the most accurate, check out our testimonials!

"It's a yachting version of Bloomberg, the Financial Times and the Economist; all rolled into one."

Jamie edmiston, chief executive of edmiston & company, how syt iq will help you.

INSTANT BRANDED PDF BROCHURES

Don't waste time searching for images and specifications - create instant PDF brochures of individual yachts or a selection of yachts with your own logo.

Download Data Lists 

Download a complete set of highly accurate yacht data, refits or yacht sales in an Excel file and start analysing the data right now.

Daily Market Update

Stay up-to-date with all changes in the market with our daily SYT iQ market update or set custom alerts for markets or yachts you want to follow.

ALL NEW AND USED YACHTS FOR SALE

The only yacht database in the world that has all the information on every new and used yacht for sale over 24-metres, with more than 2,500 yachts for sale.

See All Features

SYT iQ has changed our way of doing business. Accurate information, in depth knowledge of the market and the latest developments only a click away. Strongly recommend industry professionals to try it out!

Michel chryssicopoulos, global managing partner of iyc, case studies.

Who will benefit from SYT iQ and how the most advanced superyacht intelligence platform can help you.

Get in touch for a quotation that meets your needs.

Stay Tuned!

Join our mailing list to get the latest news, updates, and exclusive offers delivered to your inbox.

Follow us on social media

© 2021 SuperYacht Times. All rights reserved.

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

Turkey DISPATCH

A Stork, a Fisherman and Their Unlikely Bond Enchant Turkey

Thirteen years ago, a stork landed on a fisherman’s boat looking for food. He has come back every year since, drawing national attention.

Adem Yilmaz in his fishing boat with his stork companion, Yaren. Credit...

Supported by

• Share full article

By Ben Hubbard and Safak Timur

Photographs by Ivor Prickett

Reporting from Eskikaraagac, Turkey

• March 30, 2024

Thirteen years ago, a poor fisherman in a small Turkish village was retrieving his net from a lake when he heard a noise behind him and turned to find a majestic being standing on the bow of his rowboat.

Gleaming white feathers covered its head, neck and chest, yielding to black plumes on its wings. It stood atop skinny orange legs that nearly matched the color of its long, pointy beak.

The fisherman, Adem Yilmaz, recognized it as one of the white storks that had long summered in the village, he recalled, but he had never seen one so close, much less hosted one on his boat.

Wondering if it was hungry, he tossed it a fish, which the bird devoured. He tossed another. And another.

So began an unlikely tale of man and bird that has captivated Turkey as the passing years — and a deft social media campaign by a local nature photographer — have spread the pair’s story as a modern-day fable of cross-species friendship.

The stork, nicknamed Yaren, or “companion,” in Turkish, not only returned to Mr. Yilmaz’s boat repeatedly that first year, the fisherman said, but after migrating south for the winter, returned the next spring to the same village, the same nest — and the same boat.

Last month, after Yaren appeared in the village for the 13th year in a row, the local news media gleefully covered his arrival like the springtime sighting of a Turkish Punxsutawney Phil .

The pair’s story has brought unexpected fame, although no serious fortune, to Mr. Yilmaz, 70, and Yaren, estimated to be 17. They have co-starred in a children’s book and an award-winning documentary . A children’s adventure movie featuring a cameo by Mr. Yilmaz (and a digital rendering of the stork) is expected to debut in cinemas across Turkey this year.

Stork lovers everywhere can watch Yaren and his partner, Nazli, or “coquette” in Turkish, as they preen, contort their necks, clack their beaks, renovate their nest and occasionally mate, thanks to a 24-hour webcam set up by the local government.

“This is not a tale. This is a true story,” Ali Ozkan, the mayor of Karacabey, whose district includes the village, said in an interview. “It is a true story with the flavor of a tale.”

The bird’s celebrity has bolstered municipal efforts to increase local tourism with walking paths and coffee shops near the district’s lakes and wetlands, he said. The area has developed a stork “master plan” to care for the birds.

He initially faced some criticism from constituents who wondered why a mayor was getting involved with storks, he said. But now, residents call in when they notice damaged nests, and a friend from another city recently phoned him to complain that he could not see Yaren on the webcam.

The story has put Mr. Yilmaz’s village of Eskikaraagac — population 235 — on the map, drawing groups of students and tourists who stroll its narrow streets to see the storks and take boat rides on neighboring Lake Uluabat. Many visitors seek out Yaren’s nest, which sits on a platform atop an electric pole near Mr. Yilmaz’s house, and act star-struck when they encounter the fisherman himself, peppering him with questions and posing for photographs.

Sea of Marmara

Eskikaraagac

Mediterranean

One recent morning, Mr. Yilmaz stood in the yard of his small, two-story house holding a tub of fish he had caught. In their nest overhead, Yaren and Nazli dozed, groomed themselves and filled the air with the percussive clacking of their beaks.

“Yaren!” Mr. Yilmaz called.

Both birds glided down to the yard, and Mr. Yilmaz lofted fish into their beaks.

“They are full,” Mr. Yilmaz announced after the birds had downed about two dozen fish. “After 13 years, I can tell.”

Storks have long nested in the village, arriving in the spring and mating before migrating in the late summer toward Africa.

Village elders recall when there seemed to be a stork nest on every roof and residents struggled to prevent the birds from swiping laundry from outdoor lines. But most people liked the birds, whose arrival right after pink flowers bloomed on the almond trees was a harbinger of spring.

Ridvan Cetin, the village’s elected authority, said a count in the 1980s found 41 active nests, meaning 82 storks, not including chicks.

This year, the village has only four active nests, including Yaren’s.

“Now they are very few,” Mr. Cetin said sadly.

No one in the village could recall a bond similar to that between Mr. Yilmaz and Yaren.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mr. Cetin said.

For Mr. Yilmaz, a quiet man with leathery hands and a kind, rutted face, Yaren was a serendipitous addition to what he had hoped would be a late, restful chapter in an otherwise difficult life.

He grew up poor. His father pulled him out of school to work in the fields and fish, no matter how cold the weather.

“My life was between the field and the lake,” he said.

His mother died when he was 13. His father remarried when he was 17 to a woman Mr. Yilmaz did not like. So, with only an elementary school education, he fled to Bursa, the nearest big city, and worked in a factory that made yogurt and other milk products.

At 19, he married another villager he had known since childhood. They lost their first child, a daughter, weeks after her birth. He worked in different milk factories as he and his wife raised three other children, two boys and a girl.

In 2011, with his children grown and living elsewhere with his five grandchildren, he stopped working, returned to the village and moved back into his childhood home, next to the lake where he had fished as a child.

“It was my dream from the day I started working to go to my village and fish,” he said.

Soon after, the stork landed on his boat.

Each time Yaren left, Mr. Yilmaz wondered whether he would return. But after a few years, he stopped worrying.

“I was sure that as long as I was alive, this bird was going to return,” he said.

Early on, no one much cared that Mr. Yilmaz had made friends with a stork. Other villagers teased him or said he was wasting his time — and his fish.

That changed in year five, when Alper Tuydes, a hunter turned wildlife photographer who works for the local government, began sharing photographs of the pair on social media. The story spread, getting a lift each spring with Yaren’s arrival.

The relationship of man and bird corresponds with known stork behaviors, said Omer Donduren, a Turkish ornithologist.

Although storks avoid direct contact with people, they often roost near them, on roofs, in chimneys or atop electricity poles.

The birds tend toward monogamy and display loyalty to their nests, parting ways with their partners to migrate, but rendezvousing in the same nest in the spring to reproduce.

That could explain why Yaren has roosted near Mr. Yilmaz’s house year after year, Mr. Donduren said.

Storks, which can live for more than 20 years in the wild and more than 30 in captivity, also have strong memories, enabling them to remember migration routes from as far north as Poland and Germany to destinations many thousands of miles south, as far as South Africa. It is unclear where Yaren spends his time after he leaves the village, but a tracker affixed to one of his offspring followed the bird over Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic before it stopped working.

Over time, Yaren’s experiences with Mr. Yilmaz have probably become part of his memory, he said.

“Nature doesn’t have much space for emotions,” Mr. Donduren said. “For the stork, it is a matter of easy food. It thinks, There is an easy source of food here. This man seems safe. He doesn’t hurt me.”

Mr. Yilmaz’s explanation is much simpler.

“It is just to love an animal,” he said. “They are God’s creatures.”

One recent morning, Mr. Yilmaz rowed into the lake and pulled up his net, dropping small fish into the boat.

“Yaren!” he called.

The stork took flight, did a loop to surveil the boat and perched on a lamppost near the bank.

“Yaren!” Mr. Yilmaz called again.

The bird took flight again, finally alighting on the boat, where Mr. Yilmaz tossed him fish after fish.

After a while, the stork lifted off, glided around the village and returned to his nest.

“That’s it,” Mr. Yilmaz said with a satisfied smile. “He is full.”

Ben Hubbard is the Istanbul bureau chief, covering Turkey and the surrounding region. More about Ben Hubbard

Ivor Prickett is a photographer based in Istanbul. He covered the rise and fall of ISIS in Iraq and Syria while on assignment for The Times. More recently he has been working on stories related to the war in Ukraine. More about Ivor Prickett

Advertisement