3 ms·

The Ornate Bird Palaces of Ottoman-Era Turkey (2017)

87 points by keiferski 3y ago

cfq 3y ago
If you're interested in this, you should definitely check out the documentary Birdmen of Istanbul[1]. Turn on captions for English subtitles. It tells the story of the residents of bird cafes in Istanbul and the very old tradition of goldfinch, greenfinch and siskin training for singing. They're completely obsessed with birds, dedicating their whole lives to finding and training them. They have special vocabulary for classifying different bird songs. It's known to be a dying tradition as well but this documentary might have rekindled the interest. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-M5JVR1JlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-M5JVR1JlM
- pradn 3y ago
  Volume 2 ("The Desolate One") of the 2015 Portuguese film trilogy "Arabian Nights" has a 40-min story about bird trainers, as well. They love their birds, they love their songs, and they love to compete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Nights_(2015_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Nights_(2015_film)
doctorhandshake 3y ago
This history plays a minor part in the plot of The Mountain in the Sea, which is a book about octopuses more so than the birds of Turkey
morninglight 3y ago
The Persians also built elaborate structures for birds. Bird dropping might make a mess of elegant architecture, but the bird towers in Iran served to collect the valuable fertilizer they left behind. Very clever. https://itto.org/iran/attraction/dovecotes-pigeon-tower-isfahan https://itto.org/iran/attraction/dovecotes-pigeon-tower-isfa... https://themindcircle.com/mardavij-pigeon-tower/ https://themindcircle.com/mardavij-pigeon-tower/ https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450802/Pigeon-towers-significant-but-strange-buildings-of-ancient-times https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450802/Pigeon-towers-signif... .
- skyfaller 3y ago
  Low-tech Magazine covered pigeon towers, as previously mentioned on HN: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2016/10/pigeon-towers-a-low-tech-alternative-to-synthetic-fertilizers/ https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2016/10/pigeon-towers-a-lo... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31885525 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31885525
Qahlel 3y ago
Istanbul is the city where the people feed both the cats and the birds in an incomparable level to rest of the world. I remember visiting a smash burger joint near emirgan area, where the owner is feeding stray cats with burger patties... Weirdly beautiful
- beebeepka 3y ago
  I almost have like a kilo of dry cat food with me. The bird feeder attracts pigeond and they often shit all over the place. I have noticed that corvids also like cat food. We have so many and they compete with each other.
  - FartyMcFarter 3y ago
    Dogs love cat food too, I think it's because it's very rich in protein.

87 points by keiferski 3y ago

cfq 3y ago

If you're interested in this, you should definitely check out the documentary Birdmen of Istanbul[1]. Turn on captions for English subtitles. It tells the story of the residents of bird cafes in Istanbul and the very old tradition of goldfinch, greenfinch and siskin training for singing. They're completely obsessed with birds, dedicating their whole lives to finding and training them. They have special vocabulary for classifying different bird songs. It's known to be a dying tradition as well but this documentary might have rekindled the interest. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-M5JVR1JlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-M5JVR1JlM

pradn 3y ago
Volume 2 ("The Desolate One") of the 2015 Portuguese film trilogy "Arabian Nights" has a 40-min story about bird trainers, as well. They love their birds, they love their songs, and they love to compete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Nights_(2015_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Nights_(2015_film)

doctorhandshake 3y ago

This history plays a minor part in the plot of The Mountain in the Sea, which is a book about octopuses more so than the birds of Turkey

morninglight 3y ago

The Persians also built elaborate structures for birds. Bird dropping might make a mess of elegant architecture, but the bird towers in Iran served to collect the valuable fertilizer they left behind. Very clever. https://itto.org/iran/attraction/dovecotes-pigeon-tower-isfahan https://itto.org/iran/attraction/dovecotes-pigeon-tower-isfa... https://themindcircle.com/mardavij-pigeon-tower/ https://themindcircle.com/mardavij-pigeon-tower/ https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450802/Pigeon-towers-significant-but-strange-buildings-of-ancient-times https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450802/Pigeon-towers-signif... .

skyfaller 3y ago
Low-tech Magazine covered pigeon towers, as previously mentioned on HN: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2016/10/pigeon-towers-a-low-tech-alternative-to-synthetic-fertilizers/ https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2016/10/pigeon-towers-a-lo... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31885525 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31885525

Qahlel 3y ago

Istanbul is the city where the people feed both the cats and the birds in an incomparable level to rest of the world. I remember visiting a smash burger joint near emirgan area, where the owner is feeding stray cats with burger patties... Weirdly beautiful

beebeepka 3y ago
I almost have like a kilo of dry cat food with me. The bird feeder attracts pigeond and they often shit all over the place. I have noticed that corvids also like cat food. We have so many and they compete with each other.
- FartyMcFarter 3y ago
  Dogs love cat food too, I think it's because it's very rich in protein.