Pigeon breeding is a hobby that is very popular in various parts of Turkey. The most special species are somersaulting pigeons, which have come to symbolize Mardin. Somersaulting pigeons should not be overlooked.

There are also many varieties among them, including cuffed, uncuffed, peaked, unpeaked, attendant, black and white, grey and brown, and spotted kinds.

A SYMPHONY OF WINGS
Among experienced pigeon breeders, somersaulting pigeons are known as performers. Land pigeons of the same type are known as form or somersault pigeons. The most distinctive characteristic of these pigeons is that they are larger.

The original somersaulting pigeons from Mardin do not have peaks or frills on their heads. However, since they have been interbred, there are some varieties nowadays that do have peaks and chest frills.

Somersaulting Mardin pigeons are very distinctive with their black, white, blue, and smoky grey colors. A new literature has been established on the flying styles and somersaulting techniques of these pigeons that fly so beautifully and high.

According to pigeon breeders, what makes this variety so essential is the sound of their flapping wings. Somersaulting pigeons have a distinct flapping sound due to their physical structure.

For enthusiasts, the sound produced when they flap their wings as they extend their necks and start rising into the sky or while they perform their show as they somersaulting on the floor, and especially when they start somersaulting in various intervals as they rise in the air, is far more impressive than any symphony ever made.

What makes the somersaulting pigeons worth watching is the mastery of their performances.

The higher a somersaulting pigeon climbs up and the wider a loop it chooses to do, the more it dives and plays games in the process, the better its ability to pull off a nose dive and manage a low somersault at the end of that dive, the faster it recovers from the somersault and starts climbing again, and the more somersaults it exhibits during a climb as it extends its neck, the more valuable the pigeon is.

Meanwhile, a pigeon’s ability to start rising every ten to fifteen minutes, the sounds of its flapping as it does so, the period it remains up in the air, and its ability to return home by displaying several somersaults are some of the signs that show how capable the pigeon is.

The somersaulting pigeons that embellish Mardin’s skyline render the glamorous atmosphere of the city more mysterious with the sounds of their flapping wings.

A VERY STRONG ATTACHMENT
In Mardin, pigeon breeding goes back to an era long before the Republic. Furthermore, almost every family breeds pigeons there. Some even claim that the historical architecture of Mardin has been structured to suit pigeon breeders.

Requiring serious financial and intangible devotion, pigeon breeding is an indispensable passion for its enthusiasts. Converting a baby pigeon into a capable tumbler is not so easy.

First of all, one needs to know the tricks. As the sense of attachment is very strong in somersaulting pigeons, enthusiasts prefer to train chicks, because ones bred in other places somehow manage to find a way to go back home.

Transforming a chick into a somersaulting pigeon is not as easy as it seems. In order to familiarize a chick with its new home, it is necessary to pin its wings together and let it walk around on the rooftop where it belongs for about ten days. This way, the baby gets to know the environment and the new home it belongs to.

When its wings are unpinned, the baby starts strolling around the walls and gets familiar with its surroundings. After a certain period of time, the pigeon is ready to fly. Pigeon breeders need to have knowledge of the weather and the winds. The sky must be clear for a somersaulting pigeon to see the sun, and the wind must blow from north to south.

This way, after one or two trials, a somersaulting pigeon completes its flight, performs its show, and returns home. Hawks are the biggest risk for somersaulting pigeons. The other risk, of course, is for the bird to be so engrossed in its performance that it loses its bearings.

BIRDHOUSES
In past and in present, pigeons have occupied a very special and privileged position in Turkish cities; even in architecture, details such as birdhouses for the city’s silent residents are taken into consideration. Especially in Istanbul, it is possible to find birdhouses – also called “sparrow palaces” – in several historic mosques.

VARIETIES
Pigeons have been given names unique to every region. The Mardinian (including the subtypes of the ashy Mardinian, white Mardinian, and sky-blue Mardinian), the Mosulian, the Seljuk, the idle Baghadian, the grey/sky-blue, the rosy (as the feathers on its breast resemble roses), and Cashmere are some of these names.