Why a Booktrail?
2000s – Pigeon wars in an ancient city sounds like an intriguing way to discover the city of Damascus and the country of Syria
The Pigeon Wars of Damascus
What you need to know before your trail
The history of pigeons in the Islamic world might sound like a strange story to tell but the title reveals many things and many facets about one of the most ancient cities on earth.
The symbol of birds in Islamic culture he notes is important, The idea of the soul as a winged creature is ancient.
So as Marius Kociejowski returns to Syria, he notes how it has changed and how five years after the trips which allowed him to write The Street Philosopher and the Holy Fool: A Syrian Journey, he returns for a unique angle on a country much changed.
Travel Guide
To be able to really see a country, Marius Kociejowski writes that you have to see it is from the periphery, “preferably through the eyes of the people who are themselves outsiders’. This is what led him to visit people such as pigeon people – those who keep pigeons, a group sneered upon in Syria.
Some fly them for a hobby and to win others birds, but there is also a historical context as many times during a siege, pigeons were shot down or captured by the opposing army who feared they were being used as messengers or spies. this was apparently the case in 1966 when the Syrians believed Israeli spies were involved.
I would notice flocks of pigeons rise like constellations above the houses, soaring together as if guided by a single thought, their flight accompanied by human whistles…
Those who kept these birds were often feared and then the practice was banned when avian flu spread across many countries. Was this some kind of enemy attempt to infiltrate the country by spreading disease?
As well as the pigeon wars, the book covers the post 9/11 atmosphere in Syria and the changing face of a once great nation. Repression and religious troubles are rife, yet the link always comes back to examining the place of all of us in society and the symbol of birds.
A unique way of telling the story of Syrian and noting the changes in a short space of time.
Where Next?
