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At one of Istanbul's busiest transport junctions, taxi dolmus, a shared taxi service, drivers on the Cevizlibag-Taksim route have turned a fenced green median into an unusual home for feather-footed chickens, drawing the attention of thousands of commuters passing through the area each day.
The small space sits where metrobus, tram, minibus and taxi dolmus stops meet.
The flock has been living in the area for about two years, in a fenced section beside a container used by drivers to rest and organize the stop.
The drivers now look after five feathered-footed chickens, one rooster and three chicks, while also keeping an eye on eggs waiting to hatch.
The birds have become a familiar sight for people rushing between public transport lines. Some passengers briefly stop to watch them, while others feed them with food they have on hand, including bread and corn.
Although the chickens live at one of the city's busiest transport points, they usually stay within the green area.
In the evening, the drivers put them into a box-made coop and cover it up before letting them out again in the morning.
Muhammed Enes Kanayran, a 25-year-old driver who has worked at the stop for 5 years, said the drivers look after the chickens as a hobby and that passengers are often pleased to see them.
He said some people ask for eggs, while others feed the birds, and added that a few people have even tried to take them away.
Kanayran said the stop operates around the clock, so the drivers lock the chickens in the coop at night, give them feed and accept small help from others nearby, including a corn seller who gives corn to the birds.
Another driver, Ali Akdenizli, said the drivers share the responsibility, with whoever has free time filling the water and giving food. He said children passing through the area often stop to watch the chickens and enjoy seeing them.
Akdenizli also recalled that one chicken was once taken away by a young man on foot, before a driver later recognized it on the road and brought it back. He said the drivers were saddened when another chicken was hit by a tram.
Ahmet Udun, the person responsible for the taxi-dolmus stop, said the chickens help drivers ease stress during the workday.
"When people waiting for the dolmus see the chickens, they ease their longing for the village. Children come over and pet them. Raising feather-footed chickens is not hard; we give them wheat and greens. When the chicks hatch, we get excited. How could we not? Our little ones are coming out," Udun said.
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