Istanbul’s Bird Palaces
Bird shelters and birdhouses can be found all over the world. However, the bird palaces in Istanbul and other parts of Turkey are spectacularly beautiful.
Today we invite you to discover all the characteristics of Istanbul’s bird palaces.
The bird palaces of Istanbul
These small palaces try to imitate Ottoman-style palaces and mosques and have existed since at least the 15th century. Those made in the eighteenth century, then, are authentic works of art.
Some of these Ottoman works of art contain inside mangers, fountains, corridors and balconies. These bird palaces are located in areas where there is great exposure to sunlight and sheltered from the cold and wind.
Currently, the oldest preserved bird palace in Istanbul is located on a bridge and dates back to the 16th century. The truth is that many of them have deteriorated over time, or been destroyed along with the old buildings. This is not only a great loss to the history of Istanbul, but also to the poor birds that lived there.
What are these bird palaces for?
Like the birdhouses that live in your garden, these small buildings protect birds from the weather, cats and other dangers, and prevent birds from falling to the ground or at least decrease the likelihood of falling.
While they may not be as luxurious as those in Istanbul, you can create birdhouses or feeders to attract birds to your garden using recycled materials; you can also buy them ready-made in pet stores.
Building birdhouses is a huge help for these small animals, which are most often helpless, hungry and at the mercy of the elements. The construction of bird shelters, in fact, considerably reduces their mortality. While it sounds incredible, some of them, like the sparrow, are disappearing.
Turkey and the birds
The reason why there are all these bird palaces in Turkey is the incredible respect that Turkish people pay to these birds and the love for their singing.
To communicate with each other, the inhabitants of this Turkish city emit bird-like whistles. Furthermore, they argue that a song like that of the blackbird resembles the verses of the Koran.
With advances in communication technology, this language is disappearing, but festivals and other popular events are still organized in order to promote the preservation of this language.
In regions such as Cukurova, two-thirds of the birds migrating to northern Europe congregate : the common spoonbill, martin pio or flamingo cross Turkey year after year.
In this area alone, 200,000 birds passed through last year, meaning there are more than 70 species that winter in Adana’s national parks. During the coldest winters, the number of birds in this paradise sometimes doubles. There’s no denying that Turkey loves birds!
