Murat Eroğlu

Turkey's shimmering Tuz Lake, the country's second-largest lake, supplies 70% of its salt, even as its waters recede due to climate change. Here villagers still harvest pure, untreated salt. For widower Salih, salt is more than a livelihood – it's survival. Before dawn, he rides out on his loyal horse Fedai with his daughter Zeliş, gathering salt at sunrise and sharing the harvest with neighbours. But when Salih's friend Muhtar yields to the mayor's orders and a greedy corporation claims the lake's salt rights, villagers are barred from the shore and threatened with losing their horses. Salih refuses to give in. He makes forbidden journeys, devises schemes to outwit the ever-watchful gendarmes, and relies on his honest heart and loyal accomplices.

Şafakla Dönenler describes the difficulties experienced by all laborers through the eyes of Erdal and his 12-year-old son, Merdan, who work as a vegetable at night. Father and son go to work in the face of the brutality of the night and the harshness of the cold. They try to sell at the bottom of the dark wall with hand carts taking greenery from large shops. After getting some of the goods, the trolleys are stolen. On the one hand, they try to move and sell the goods on their backs, while on the one hand they search the carts. Will they be able to find their car when the night is over and at dawn?

Turkey's shimmering Tuz Lake, the country's second-largest lake, supplies 70% of its salt, even as its waters recede due to climate change. Here villagers still harvest pure, untreated salt. For widower Salih, salt is more than a livelihood – it's survival. Before dawn, he rides out on his loyal horse Fedai with his daughter Zeliş, gathering salt at sunrise and sharing the harvest with neighbours. But when Salih's friend Muhtar yields to the mayor's orders and a greedy corporation claims the lake's salt rights, villagers are barred from the shore and threatened with losing their horses. Salih refuses to give in. He makes forbidden journeys, devises schemes to outwit the ever-watchful gendarmes, and relies on his honest heart and loyal accomplices.

Turkey's shimmering Tuz Lake, the country's second-largest lake, supplies 70% of its salt, even as its waters recede due to climate change. Here villagers still harvest pure, untreated salt. For widower Salih, salt is more than a livelihood – it's survival. Before dawn, he rides out on his loyal horse Fedai with his daughter Zeliş, gathering salt at sunrise and sharing the harvest with neighbours. But when Salih's friend Muhtar yields to the mayor's orders and a greedy corporation claims the lake's salt rights, villagers are barred from the shore and threatened with losing their horses. Salih refuses to give in. He makes forbidden journeys, devises schemes to outwit the ever-watchful gendarmes, and relies on his honest heart and loyal accomplices.

Turkey's shimmering Tuz Lake, the country's second-largest lake, supplies 70% of its salt, even as its waters recede due to climate change. Here villagers still harvest pure, untreated salt. For widower Salih, salt is more than a livelihood – it's survival. Before dawn, he rides out on his loyal horse Fedai with his daughter Zeliş, gathering salt at sunrise and sharing the harvest with neighbours. But when Salih's friend Muhtar yields to the mayor's orders and a greedy corporation claims the lake's salt rights, villagers are barred from the shore and threatened with losing their horses. Salih refuses to give in. He makes forbidden journeys, devises schemes to outwit the ever-watchful gendarmes, and relies on his honest heart and loyal accomplices.

Şafakla Dönenler describes the difficulties experienced by all laborers through the eyes of Erdal and his 12-year-old son, Merdan, who work as a vegetable at night. Father and son go to work in the face of the brutality of the night and the harshness of the cold. They try to sell at the bottom of the dark wall with hand carts taking greenery from large shops. After getting some of the goods, the trolleys are stolen. On the one hand, they try to move and sell the goods on their backs, while on the one hand they search the carts. Will they be able to find their car when the night is over and at dawn?