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Turkey's ancient practice of pigeon raising sees new life in quarantine
March 14, 2021
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In most Turkish towns, it's not unusual to see older men climbing up to their pigeon coops after the evening commute.
Most roosts are nestled into the eaves of an apartment building, or tucked in the back behind a family home. These bird enthusiasts like to open the coop doors at the end of the day and let their charges stretch their wings, flying together in a wide arc over the rooftops as the sun sets behind them.
"You need to see them as a piece of yourself," said Yalçın Karcı, who raises a brood of 150 pigeons in a quiet Istanbul suburb alongside his 7-year-old son, Kaman. "Especially during quarantine, we weren't able to go anywhere ... It's therapeutic."
IstanbulTurkeyIranChinaGaziantepSyriaSelanikPerifereia-kentrikis-makedoniasGreeceKarciDenizliSalonica Credit:
Durrie Bouscaren/The World
Karcı’s birds are a happy lot, cooing to each other from their nests in a collection of cabinet-style coops on a large, grassy lot in the Tarabya neighborhood.
The air feels cleaner here, just north of the city’s bustling financial district, where there’s no traffic.
Over the past year, Turkish children spent months under a curfew that allowed them outside for only a few hours a day. The pigeon lot was a place of refuge for Karcı’s young family, whose apartment overlooks the birds.
Pigeons are fast growers; these little fliers are just three weeks old. They stay close to the roost, but will soon fly with the rest of the flock.
IstanbulTurkeyIranChinaGaziantepSyriaSelanikPerifereia-kentrikis-makedoniasGreeceKarciDenizliSalonica