ottoman love of pigeons

bird stories were found in ottoman illuminated manuscripts and attest to the turks’ great love for the feathered species. besides such legendary birds as the hoopoe, the phoenix and the bird of paradise, the more common birds we see around us also had their honored place.

the ottoman love of birds is attested by bird houses built for species such as sparrows, swallows, finches and pigeons. attached to the facades of mosques, medreses, mausoleums, fountains, caravanserais and even private dwellings, these ‘model homes’ were of one, two, even three stories. they not only added distinction to the buildings they adorned, they also possessed a certain monumental beauty of their own.

a miniature in a manuscript in the university of istanbul library depicts four cats gazing with great appetite on two birds, and two large parrots in separate cages with other birds hovering overhead. this miniature illustrates a story from the famous work known as the ‘mesnevî’ by mevlâna jelaladdin rumî. according to the story, the caged birds symbolize believers who are eager to be liberated from these mortal coils as soon as possible.

catching birds by a variety of different methods, they trained some of them, imparting to them a host of skills. people who bought these birds and then set them free believed they were doing a good deed that would earn them points in heaven. it was a sin, for example, to touch the birds known as kites, so meat was always left for them in open places. the bird catchers have vanished today.

despite being an international symbol of peace and goodwill (better known as doves in that context), and that most turkish people hold pigeons in great esteem, pigeons and their mess pose problems all over turkey. a year or two ago, greek tourists asked the european union to step in and pay for pigeon-prevention measures at the ayasofya mosque. according to the motion they put in parliament, they found that the aforementioned birds were damaging the structure of the building and creating a stink inside. the mosque was ‘a work of art that constituted a bridge between civilizations – ayasofya belongs to all humanity’. they asked the EU to fund wire barriers that would prevent nesting, similar to those already used on historic structures in london and venice.

there are even those who claim that pigeons can be a tourist attraction rather than a repellent pest. according to ‘asia times’, in konya, central turkey, exist the sebap pigeon lovers society, which already has at least 294 members. tumbler (or roller) pigeons were first imported to konya from syria a few years ago, and in auctions held by the society, pigeons have fetched prices ranging between 250 and 25,000 liras (the purchase price of a new car). there are 10,000 people breeding pigeons in konya alone.

earlier this year (2010), designboom visited the istanbul design center (IDC), in the heart of historic istanbul, where a nice photography exhibition was shown – the results of a photography competition under the theme ‘pigeon’ that was held in 2009. the 20 best works were exposed – the first prize has not been awarded, the second prize went to ismail tutun a third prize to berk bilgin, and an honorable mention to fatih tepehan.

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