Constantinople possesses a grace and gayety all her own emanating from
her myriads of birds of every species, objects of especial veneration
and affection among the Turks. Mosque and grove, ancient wall and
garden, palace and courtyard, are full of song, of the cheerful sound
of twittering and chirping; everywhere there is the rush of wings,
everywhere the busy, active little lives go on. Sparrows come boldly
into the houses and eat from the women’s and children’s hands; swallows
build their nests over the doorways of cafés and beneath the roofs of
bazârs; innumerable flocks of pigeons, maintained by means of legacies
from different sultans as well as private individuals, form black and
white garlands around the cornices of the domes and terraces of the
minarets; gulls circle joyously about the granaries; thousands of
turtle-doves bill and coo among the cypress trees in the cemeteries;
all around the Castle of the Seven Towers ravens croak and vultures
hover significantly; kingfishers come and go in long lines between the
Black Sea and Sea of Marmora; while storks may be seen resting upon
the domes of solitary mausoleums. For the Turk each one of these birds
possesses some pleasing quality or lucky influence. The turtle-dove is
the patron of lovers; the swallow will protect from fire any building
where her nest is built; the stork performs a yearly pilgrimage to
Mecca; while the halcyon carries the souls of the faithful to Paradise.
Hence they feed and protect them both from religious motives and from
gratitude, and in return the birds make a continual festival around
their houses, on the water, and among the tombs. In every quarter of
Stambul they soar and circle about, grazing against you in their noisy
flights, and filling the entire city with something of the joyous
freedom of the open country, constantly bringing up before one’s mind
images of nature.