# Çukur

Çukur (transl. "The Hole") is a Turkish action, drama and crime thriller television series produced by Ay Yapım, directed by Sinan Öztürk and written by Gökhan Horzum and Damla Serim. It premiered on 23 October 2017 and concluded on 7 June 2021 with a total of 131 episodes (four seasons).

## Plot

The Koçovalı family is in control of Çukur, the crime-ridden neighborhood of Istanbul. Despite being so involved in crime, the family has its own rules. One of these rules is the prohibition of drugs. No drugs are produced, used or sold in Çukur. But the groups that are new to the game try to break the ban.

## Filming

Çukur is shot in the Balat district of Istanbul's Fatih district. Some scenes of the first and second episodes of the first season were shot in Paris, the capital of France, and some scenes of the third season were shot in Berlin, the capital of Germany. After the series ended, in 2022, a fire broke out in the building of the coffee house where the series was shot.

## Cast

| Actor | Characters | About |
| Aras Bulut İynemli | Yamaç Koçovalı | The Koçovalı family's youngest son who becomes the main leader of the Çukur neighborhood mafia after his comeback. İdris and Sultan's son. He left the neighborhood after he was forced to protect his family by killing someone. Came back after Kahraman's death and became Çukur's leader. Fell in love with Sena and married her. He is smart and has off-beat solutions to problems. His combat skills are exceptional. He has unique bonds with each of his brothers including Salih. Later, when Çukur was taken away by the Karakuzular, he was advised by Sena to bring all his brothers together including Salih to take back Çukur. After Sena's death, he tried to leave Çukur and then he met with a child suffering from Leukemia who inspired him to not give up. Later, he fell in love with Efsun and ended up marrying her. Has a daughter from her named Masal and a son from Nehir named Yamaç Jr. |
| Dilan Çiçek Deniz | Sena Koçovalı | Yamaç's first love and wife. Emrah's half-sister. She suffered from psychological problems because of the drugs Emrah gave her and had an abortion. After Çukur was taken away by the Karakuzular, she looked after the family and also advised Yamaç to bring all his brothers together including Salih to take back Çukur. She sacrificed herself to protect the Koçovalı family and was kidnapped by Mahsun. Killed by Yücel. |
| Damla Sönmez | Efsun Kent | Baykal's daughter from Şifa. Yamaç's second wife and mother of Masal. First came as an enemy to the Koçovalı family and wanted to avenge her father's death by helping Yücel in his plan to kill İdris Koçovalı, however, she fell in love with Yamaç. She was held hostage by Nizam alongside her daughter according to Kulkan and Çağatay's plan and was forced to become a nightclub singer. She was later rescued by Yamaç and married him. |
| Erkan Kolçak Köstendil | Salih Koçovalı (Vartolu Sadettin) | İdris Koçovalı's illegitimate son from Mihriban. He was abandoned after his mother's death and lived a very tough life. First came as an enemy to the Koçovalı family for revenge, killed his elder half-brother Kahraman, and took over the neighborhood with the help of Selim(his half-brother), Emrah, and Nazım, but later reconciled with his family. Saadet's childhood love and husband. Has a son from her named Idris Jr. |
| Ercan Kesal | İdris Koçovalı | Founder and leader of the Çukur neighborhood. Father of Cumali, Kahraman, Selim, Salih, and Yamaç. Sultan's husband. Banned the selling of drugs in the Çukur neighborhood. He sacrificed himself and ordered Yamaç to kill him to protect their family according to Yücel's plan. |
| Perihan Savaş | Sultan Koçovalı | İdris's wife and mother of Cumali, Kahraman, Selim, and Yamaç. She is highly respected by the Çukur neighborhood. She is very strict and has turbulent relationships with almost every member of the Koçovalı family. She along with Paşa exiled her stepson Salih and his mother from the Çukur neighborhood without her husband's knowledge. She and her stepson Salih's animosity took a new turn when because the latter killed her son Kahraman but later regretted killing his brother. |
| Öner Erkan | Selim Koçovalı | İdris and Sultan's son. Ayşe's ex-husband and adopted father of Akın and biological father of Karaca. First betrayed his family and took over the neighborhood with the help of Vartolu, Emrah, and Nazım, but later reconciled with his family. He doesn't want to become a leader. He has a close relationship with Salih and Yamaç. He was killed by Çağatay Erdenet while bringing the property ownership documents to protect Çukur from the Erdenet family. |
| Necip Memili | Cumali Koçovalı | The Koçovalı family's eldest son and co-leader of the Çukur neighborhood mafia. İdris and Sultan's son. He was named after his uncle Cumali. He spent 11 years in prison. He shares a lot of similarities with his father. He uses old-school methods while eliminating his family's enemies. He often has conflicts with his younger brothers Salih and Selim for betraying their family. His youngest brother Yamaç mediates between them. He eventually makes peace with Salih and Selim after they show sincere regret over their past actions. He has an arranged marriage with Damla but later the two fall in love. They have a daughter named Asiye. In season 4, he shoots Yamaç three times after finding out that he was forced to kill their father to save their family. After Yamaç survives the three bullets, he exiles him from Çukur. He later reconciles with Yamaç. |
| Rıza Kocaoğlu | Ali Çoban (Aliço) | Dustman and skilled sniper who has autism. Yavuz Çoban's son who ran away from home because his father mentally abused him. He was taken in by İdris Koçovalı and became part of the family. He is very intelligent and has a photographic memory, helping the neighborhood against their enemies. He has a special bond with each member of the Koçovali family even though he is closest to Yamaç. He fell in love with Hale and suffered a lot when she was killed. He later met Seher and fell in love with her. |
| Mustafa Üstündağ | Kahraman Koçovalı | İdris and Sultan's son. Co-leader of Çukur. Nedret's husband and father of Akşın and Acar. Killed by Vartolu. In season 3, it is implied that he is also the biological father of Akin Koçovalı. |
| Burak Dakak | Akın Koçovalı | İdris Koçovalı's eldest grandchild. Selim and Ayşe's son. Yasmin's husband. Suffers from asthma. Rescued Yücel from death and helped him in his plan to kill his own grandfather İdris. Later, he felt very guilty and came to love and help his family in the most difficult situations. In season 3, it is implied that he is not Selim's biological son but possibly Kahraman's. |
| Burak Sergen | Baykal Kent (Beyefendi) | Powerful crime lord and enemy of the Koçovalı family. Father of Nazım, Emrah, and Efsun. Wanted to take over the Çukur neighborhood with the help of Salih and Selim. Killed by Elvis and the Russian mafia. |
| Tansu Biçer | Yücel Tansoy (Yüzüklü) | Co-founder and former co-leader of the Karakuzular. Enemy of the Koçovalı family. He killed Sena and Akşın and with the help of Azer, Timsah, Efsun, and Akin, forced Yamaç to kill his own father İdris Koçovalı in order to avenge his own father's death. He later started working for Çağatay Erdenet. Killed by Yamaç. |
| Erkan Avcı | Çeto | Co-founder and co-leader of the Karakuzular. Enemy of the Çukur neighborhood and the Koçovalı family. Together with Mahsun and the Karakuzular, he took over the neighborhood after raiding the Koçovalı family. Secretly sells organs of deceased Karakuzular members. Killed by Mahsun after tricking him into killing his father. |
| Berkay Ateş | Fikret Canseven (Mahsun) | Co-leader of the Karakuzular. Former enemy of the Çukur neighborhood and the Koçovalı family. Fell in love with Sena. Killed Çeto after he tricked him into killing his own father. Came back later as Yamaç's bodyguard and then finally, left with the remaining Karakuzular members and his mother to start a new life. |
| Mustafa Avkıran | Cengiz Erdenet | Istanbul's richest and most powerful businessman. Enemy of the Koçovalı family. Father of Ogeday, Çağatay, Arık, and Kulkan. Husband of Süreyya and Olga. Owner of the Erdenet Holding and Istanbul's biggest drug business. Killed by Yamaç, Cumali, and Akın. |
| Nejat İşler | Çağatay Erdenet | Powerful crime lord and Istanbul's biggest drug trafficker. Enemy of the Koçovalı family. Cengiz Erdenet's older son from Olga. He had a long time crush on Efsun. Supervised his father's drug business and illegal work. Killed Selim in order to avenge his brother Arık. Killed by Yamaç, Cumali, and Akın. |
| Barış Arduç | Arık Böke Erdenet | Cengiz Erdenet's younger son from Olga. Enemy of Çukur and the Koçovalı family. Took over his father's drug business after his brother Çağatay was caught by the police. Killed by Cumali. |
| Müfit Kayacan | Cumali Koçovalı Sr. (Amca) | İdris Koçovalı's older brother whom everyone thought was dead. Enemy of the Koçovalı family and leader of a drug mafia in Turkey and Afghanistan. He was shot by İdris to protect Çukur from drugs, however, he was saved by Muhittin and then was banished by İdris. He came back under the name Halil İbrahim Gökçetaş for revenge and took over the neighborhood. Killed by Salih and Akın with the help of Yamaç and Cumali. |
| Cihangir Ceyhan | Azer Kurtuluş | A crime lord in Istanbul and enemy of the Koçovalı family. Helped Yücel in his plan to kill İdris Koçovalı in order to avenge the death of his brother Savaş. Fell in love with Karaca and married her. Killed by Karaca after she found out about his role in İdris Koçovalı's death. |
| Kadir Çermik | Mücahit Savcıbey (Emmi) | Longtime and loyal friend of İdris and Paşa. One of the most respected elders in the Çukur neighborhood. Suffered from Alzheimer's after both of his lifetime friends died. Killed by Cumali Koçovalı Sr. |
| Çetin Sarıkartal | Cihangir Şahin (Paşa) | Longtime and loyal friend of İdris and Emmi. One of the most respected elders in the Çukur neighborhood. Runs the neighborhood's arms dealing business. Killed by the Karakuzular. |
| Nebil Sayın | Muhittin Derbent | The Çukur neighborhood's barber and longtime friend of İdris, Emmi, and Paşa. Meke's father. He saved Cumali 's life after İdris shot him. Killed by the Karakuzular. |
| Cem Uslu | Metin Yaman | One of Çukur's most loyal and trustworthy men. Bodyguard of the Koçovalı family. Kemal's older brother. He lost his left eye in the Karakuzular raid. |
| Uğur Yıldıran | Kemal Yaman | Metin's younger brother and one of Çukur's most loyal and trustworthy men. Bodyguard of the Koçovalı family. He sacrificed himself to protect Yamaç and was killed by Azer Kurtuluş. |
| Aytaç Uşun | Mustafa Derbent (Meke) | One of Çukur's most loyal and trustworthy men. Muhittin's son, who inherited the barbershop after his father's death. Celasun's best friend. Fell in love with Fidan and ended up marrying her. |
| Kubilay Aka | Celasun Gümüş | One of Çukur's most loyal and trustworthy men. Became one of Vartolu's men in order to secretly avenge his father's death, but later reconciled with him. Fell in love with Akşin and married her. Later fell in love with Karaca. Killed by the Masked Man at Cumali Koçovalı Sr's order. |
| Mustafa Kırantepe | Medet İnce | Vartolu's right-hand man and longtime friend. He suffered from lung problems after being shot in the Karakuzular raid. Fell in love with Cennet. He was on bad terms with Salih after Cumali Koçovalı Sr. took over the neighborhood, but later reconciled with him. |
| Ferit Kaya | Murtaza Surlu (Feri) | Arms dealer who is Paşa's former apprentice. Came as an enemy to the Koçovalı family and worked for Azer and the Erdenet family. Fell in love with Ayşe and married her. Later became Vartolu's right-hand man and even saved Yamaç's life. He committed suicide after Ayşe was killed. |
| Hare Sürel | Damla Koçovalı | Uluç's daughter and Cumali's wife. Mother of Asiye. Brave woman who helps the Koçovalı family in difficult situations. |
| Ece Yaşar | Karaca Koçovalı | Selim and Ayşe's daughter. İdris's granddaughter. First fell in love with Celasun, but was rejected by him. Later fell in love with Azer and married him, but killed him on their wedding night at Sultan's order after finding about his role in İdris's death. Later returned to Celasun when Celasun fell in love with her. Killed by Cumali Koçovalı Sr. |
| İrem Altuğ | Ayşe Yılmaz | Selim's ex-wife and mother of Akın and Karaca. Later married Murtaza. She owns a beauty salon. She doesn't have a good relationship with her daughter and keeps rejecting to connect with her emotionally throughout. Ironically, she is the first person who senses why her daughter is killed and has a total meltdown. She is killed by Şahram while trying to avenge her daughter. |
| Boncuk Yılmaz | Saadet Koçovalı | The Koçovalı family's maid who was raised in their house. Salih's wife and İdris Jr.'s mother. She is close to Sena Koçovalı. She is treated as a sister by Yamaç Koçovalı. |
| İlayda Alişan | Akşin Koçovalı (Akkız) | Kahraman and Nedret's daughter. İdris's granddaughter. Fell in love with Celasun and married him, however, her face was severely injured in the Karakuzular raid and she suffered from psychological problems. Killed by Yücel. |
| Hazal Subaşı | Nehir Bursalı | Yamaç's former lover and friend whom he met in a mental asylum. Has a son named Yamaç Jr from Yamaç. Entrusted his son to Efsun's care after she was diagnosed with cancer. |
| Gamze Doğanoğlu | Yasmin Koçovalı | İskender's sister and Akın's wife. Suffers from psychological problems because of the war in her home country Afghanistan. |
| Zeynep Kumral | Nedret Koçovalı | Kahraman's wife and mother of Akşin and Acar. Killed by the Karakuzular. |
| Şenay Gürler | Meliha Sancaklı | İdris Koçovalı's former lover and former singer in the Istanbul nightclubs. İdris thought her to be dead after he shot her, but she was saved by Paşa and Sultan. |
| Gamze Dar | Mihriban Helvacı (Gonca) | İdris Koçovalı's former lover. Salih's mother. She met İdris while working in a bar and had a romance with him, resulting in her pregnancy with Salih. While İdris was in prison, she begged Sultan to look after her son and let him grow up alongside his father, but Sultan refused and she was forced by Paşa to marry Kasım, İdris' chauffeur. Killed by Kasım Helvacı. |
| Nur Sürer | Fadik Kurtuluş | Mother of Azer Kurtuluş and his 8 siblings. Leaves Istanbul in a mad state after all his sons are killed. |
| Salih Kalyon | Yavuz Çoban | Aliço's father. Retired commander and soldier, who forces Aliço to live a military life. Killed by his own son Zafer. |
| İlkay Akdağlı | Nedim | Cumali Koçovalı Sr's right-hand man. Worked as a spy amongst the Koçovalı family while pretending to be a waiter at the Çukur coffeeshop. Killed by Salih. |
| Genco Özak | Kulkan Erdenet | Cengiz Erdenet's youngest son from Süreyya. Enemy of Çukur and the Koçovalı family. Helped his father in the war against Çukur. With the help of Cumali Koçovalı Sr., he kidnapped Yamaç and tortured him for 3 years in a cave in order to avenge the death of his brother Ogeday. Killed by Efsun. |
| Baki Davrak | Ogeday Erdenet | Cengiz Erdenet's eldest son from Süreyya. Supervised the Erdenet holding and his father's legal work. Killed by his own brother Kulkan in a trap set by Yamaç, Cumali, and Akın. |
| İrem Sak | Seren Erdenet | Cengiz Erdenet's niece and cousin of Ogeday, Çağatay, Arık, and Kulkan. Helped Arık in the war against Çukur. Killed both Olga and Süreyya in order to avenge her father's death. Killed by Çağatay Erdenet. |
| Suna Yıldızoğlu | Olga Erdenet | One of Cengiz Erdenet's wives and mother of Çağatay and Arık Böke. Russian woman who controls all of Cengiz's money that comes from his drug business. Killed by Seren. |
| Filiz Taçbaş | Süreyya Erdenet | One of Cengiz Erdenet's wives and mother of Ogeday and Kulkan. Killed by Seren. |
| Meral Çetinkaya | Makbule Kent | Baykal's mother and grandmother of Nazım, Emrah, and Efsun. Killed by Efsun. |
| Ahmet Tansu Taşanlar | Nazım Kent | Lawyer who is Baykal's son and Emrah and Efsun's half-brother. Enemy of Çukur and the Koçovalı family. Caused Baykal's death by surrendering him to the Russian mafia. Took over the neighborhood with the help of Emrah, Vartolu, and Selim. Killed by his own brother Emrah. |
| Alperen Duymaz | Emrah Kent | Former police chief and Baykal's son from Güzide. Sena's half-brother. Enemy of Çukur and the Koçovalı family. Took over the neighborhood with the help of Nazım, Vartolu, and Selim. Killed by his own brother Nazım. |
| Mehmet Yılmaz Ak | Ersoy | An accountant who is a main member of the Karakuzular. He joined the Karakuzular after Çeto and Mahsun saved him from high school bullies. Later, he betrayed them after finding out about Çeto selling organs of the deceased Karakuzular members and started helping Yamaç. Killed by Çeto. |
| Ramin Nazir | Lal Fındık | Small mute man who is a main member of the Karakuzular. He is one of Çeto's most trusted men and runs his secret business of selling organs of the deceased Karakuzular members. He tried kidnapping İdris Jr, but was shot and killed by Selim. |
| Meli Bendeli | Celil (Timsah) | A crime lord in Istanbul. Enemy of Çukur and the Koçovalı family. Helped Yücel in his plan to kill İdris Koçovalı in order to avenge his friend Sedat. Killed by Salih. |
| Serhat Özcan | Uluç (Reis) | Damla's father and İdris and Emmi's friend. One of the respected elders of the Istanbul mafia who owns a shipbuilding factory. Works secretly with Yücel against the Koçovalı family in order to take over Çukur. Killed by Yücel. |
| Sarp Akkaya | Şahram Göçer | Leader of a motorcycle mafia gang from Afghanistan. He was Cumali Koçovalı Sr's ally who saw him as a son. Enemy of Çukur and the Koçovalı family. Attacked and took over the neighborhood at the request of Cumali Koçovalı Sr. Killed by Yamaç, Cumali, Salih, and Akın. |
| Uğur Yıldıran | Masked Man | Professional assassin and martial arts master who always wore a black mask to hide his identity. He worked for Çağatay Erdenet and Cumali Koçovalı Sr. Killed by Yamaç. |
| Mehmet Bozdoğan | Kumburgazlı Serdar | A crime lord who works for Feyyaz. Made a deal with Selim to create problems for the Koçovalı family. Kidnaps İdris and Sena and attacks the neighborhood. Killed by Selim. |
| Hüseyin Soysalan | Feyyaz | One of Istanbul's crime lords and İdris's friend. He found out who Beyefendi was and wanted to tell Yamaç, but was killed by Baykal's hired sniper Laz. |
| Saygın Soysal | Elvis | Part of the Russian mafia and one of Baykal's partners. He kidnapped the Koçovalı women after Baykal was kidnapped. Along with the Russian mafia, he killed Baykal to avenge one of the Russian mafia leaders. Killed by Emrah. |
| Emrullah Çakay | Fatih | Çağatay Erdenet's servant and right-hand man. He smuggled drugs into the Çukur neighborhood at Çağatay's order. Killed by Yamaç. |
| Ahmet Bağdatlı | Sedat | Part of the Istanbul mafia who is Celil Timsah's friend. Worked with Uluç and Yücel in order to take over Çukur. Killed by Yamaç. |
| Halil Babür | Veysel/Çiyan | Salih's henchman, who was beaten to death by the Çukur residents for selling drugs. He survived and later appeared under his Veysel identity. He became Cumali's man, but later betrayed him and worked for Çeto and Mahsun. Killed by Cumali. |
| Çağrı Atakan | Remzi | Resident of the Çukur neighborhood who is an enemy of the Koçovalı family. Worked for Çukur's enemies in order to take revenge from the Koçovalı family. |
| Erman Cihan | Şenol | Arms dealer from Karadeniz who did business with the Koçovalı family and became Yamaç's close friend. Killed by Murtaza at Çağatay Erdenet's order. |
| Erdağ Yenel | Feyyaz Aktarcılar | Homeless man with 4 children who became a resident of the Çukur neighborhood with Yamaç's help and became the waiter at the Çukur coffeeshop. He was forced to marry Cennet by Cumali Koçovalı Sr, but later divorced from her. |
| Doruk Nalbantoğlu | Isa | He was Koçovalıs' man. When it was revealed that he betrayed them, he committed suicide and died. |
| Gökşen Ateş | Yıldız | Prostitute who works in nightclubs and is one of Çukur's residents. Sena's friend and Cumali's former lover. Mother of 3 children. She couldn't marry Cumali because of Sultan's disapproval. Eventually left the neighborhood. |
| Elif Doğan | Hale | Journalist, who physically resembled Meliha in her youth. She became Meliha's friend and interviewed İdris Koçovalı at her request. Fell in love with Aliço. Killed by Laz at Baykal's order. |
| Begüm Akkaya | Seher | Homeless woman with two children who took shelter in Aliço's hut. She later falls in love with Aliço and becomes a good friend of the Koçovalı family. |
| Aylin Engör | Cennet Hatırsay | İdris Jr.'s nanny. Fell in love with Medet. She was forced to marry Feyyaz by Cumali Koçovalı Sr, but later divorced from him. |
| İpek Türktan | Hatice Gümüş | Celasun's mother. She became severely depressed after her two younger sons Recep and Bekir were killed by the Karakuzular. |
| Beste Kanar | Deren | Sena's best friend. She had a crush on Mahsun, but was tortured by him because of his obsession with Sena. |

## Series overview

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 33 | 33 | 23 October 2017 (2017-10-23) | 11 June 2018 (2018-06-11) |
| 2 | 34 | 34 | 17 September 2018 (2018-09-17) | 27 May 2019 (2019-05-27) |
| 3 | 25 | 25 | 16 September 2019 (2019-09-16) | 16 March 2020 (2020-03-16) |
| 4 | 39 | 39 | 7 September 2020 (2020-09-07) | 7 June 2021 (2021-06-07) |

## International broadcasting

* Iran on Gem TV since 2019 as Persian: گودال, romanized: Godal. Dubbed to Persian.
* Ethiopia on Kana TV since 2019 as Amharic: የኛ ሰፈር, romanized: jɛɲä sɛfɛrɨ.
* Arab world on beIN Drama since 2019 as Arabic: الحفرة, romanized: al-Hufra. Dubbed to Arabic.
* South Africa in Eextra since 2022 as Die Put.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina on Nova BH since 2022 as Jama.
* Serbia on Nova S since 2021 as Jama (Only season 1).
* Albania on TV Klan since November 2022.
* Romania on Happy Channel since January 9th 2019 as Legea Familiei.

## Bookmaking

Gökhan Horzum, the screenwriter of the series, published a book about the first season of the series called Yamaç's Return - Çukur in October 2019. The cover design of the book was made by Serçin Çabuk and Banu Üstündağ Hatip.

## Reviews

Çukur has a story that reduces the neighborhood to a bad image (pit), unlike the Turkish TV series of the 2000s that deal with the neighborhood culture. Nurdan Gürbilek commented on "family, masculinity and the mafia series" by devoting a separate section to the line in his work titled Second Life. In the series, first the hero leaves the house and then returns to the threatened neighborhood as a savior. Gürbilek interprets this as a classic return story and evaluates it as a popular version of the "man returning home" narrative. According to him, the music of the TV series (mainly the songs of Gazapizm and Eypio) that integrates with the scenes of violence are rap pieces that have been converted into close combat music. In the series, the name of the struggle of the heirs (self and stepchildren) created by the father's image and the fall of the father is "brothers' fight". On the other hand, those under the command of Baba (Idris et al.) and the neighborhood leader (Yamaç et al.), who stand out as the saviors and protectors of the poor (neighbourhood), are "fatherless children". According to Gürbilek, the neighborhood is seen as a "liberated space" and the reality of despair connects people to the order of fatherhood and masculinity (neighborhood).

### Complaints

Since its publication, Çukur has been among the most complained about works on TV. Due to scenes of armed conflict, fear, violence and torture, RTÜK imposed an administrative fine on the channel on which the TV series was broadcast. Ercan Kesal, who took part in the increasing complaints for two seasons in Çukur, replied, "When you compare the violence issue in Çukur with the violence in daily life, it is much more innocent."

## Symbol

The symbol of this series and the neighborhood of Çukur is <•••>, which is tattooed on the bodies of the members of the neighborhood in the series and engraved on the walls of the neighborhood of Çukur as well as countries where the series is very popular. In the series, the concept of the symbol is defined as follows: the upper arrow means the roof, when a person is in trouble, he can go to the neighborhood and knock on the door of a house and show them the tattoo so that house can shelter him. The first point means the family within the house (father, mother, brother, sister), the second point means the family within the neighborhood, which includes neighbors, friends and partners, the third point means the Koçovalı family. They will protect Çukur when needed and Çukur will protect them when needed. The lower arrow also means a pit. The general meaning of the symbol is that as long as there is a roof above us and a pit below us with our family in between, there is no death for us in this world.