Kaftar

Mr. Alizadeh writes:

I spent a lot of time in Ghazvin. An ancient city in Azarbayjan provinc, located northwest of Iran about 200 Km from Tehran.

I must have met over hundred pigeon fanciers in Ghazvin whom their names I honestly don't remeber. Except one who was my guide. His name is Mahamad Trucky. he drove a huge truck. It was most unusual to see a small person driving a monster trailer truck.

He was a real gentleman who spent several days showing me around pigeon stores (saleh) in the old section of town as well as introducing me to many good pigeon men.

The fanciers in Ghazvin kept birds primarily to catch other fancier's birds.

In one occasion, my brother dropped me at Mohamad's place at 9:30 am and picked me up

at 5 pm. I visited over 100 lofts without going out in the streets. We went from roof to roof and loft to loft meeting fanciers and seeing their birds. It was the most memorable part of my trip. We started at Nosrat Rishoo's loft who lived close to a place called Ghaleyeh Maymoon. Practically every house belonged to a pigeon fancier. When I asked Nosrat how come everybody keeps pigeons here in this neighborhood, he jokingly replied by saying that " the city only issues building permits to those who keep pigeons". What a great place it was.

There is great understanding and gentleman's agreement whose turn it is to fly his birds.

But on Friday afternoons it seems like everyone flies his birds and sky becomes filled with pigeons of all shapes and colors if you could only imagine.

Eventhough some of these fanciers have very little education, their knowledge of breeding colors and unique markings were very impressive.

They would show their prize pigeon, but never share their secrets of breeding.

Ghazvin by far was the most interesting place I visited. Their is a similar hobby in Bejjing, China witch fanciers keep pigeons to catch other birds to trade them or sell them for a price, but I had never seen this hooby at the level of intensity of witch I saw in Ghazvin, Mashad,

or Hamadan.