After reaching the yayla the convoys disperse and the families start setting up their own tents. In some areas, the Black Sea yaylas for instance, the summer settlements are made of permanent structures with each family moving into their own wooden chalet each year. Once everything is arranged, the villagers adapt quickly to the different pace of life of the yayla . Whole family wakes up at dawn. Men set off early with the herds, while women attend to such domestic chores as preparing meals, making cheese and gathering plants for dyeing wool.
Children help out in all activities.
After women have milked the animals, it is time to turn the milk into yogurt and butter. When men and boys return in the afternoon, families gather to enjoy their main meal, often hot cracked-wheat based dishes accompanied by ayran , a drink of thinned and slated yogurt, as they talk about the day's activites. In the evenings the yayla comes to life in spontaneous gatherings. People sing traditional songs, enjoy folk music, dance and recount hilarious jokes and long stories. The attraction to the quality of life on the yayla is so rooted in village life that even those who do not earn their living from farming make the early pilgrimage.