A couple of storks and their chicks have spent their summer on the dome of a mosque in Istanbul for the past 10 years. Locals call them “Yaren” of Beykoz district, after a celebrity stork whose friendship with a fisherman in northwestern Türkiye was the subject of a documentary.
Arriving in the city every March, the family stays at Değirmendere Merkez Mosque until their chicks learn how to fly. Late in August, they migrate to hotter regions.
The storks first arrived in 2012 at the mosque, immediately after its dome was built. Soon, they became the mascots of the Paşamandıra neighborhood, where the mosque is located. Remzi Çevik, head of an association that built the mosque, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday that the storks liked the place and bred there. “The mother gave birth to two chicks in their first year and raised three chicks each time they stayed here. This year, she gave birth to four chicks. They are well loved here,” he said.
