Pigeons

Pigeons have become a theme, or at least a presence, in my life lately so I feel the need to share my experiences with you! We have just returned from London, where these prolific little birds leave their marks on statues and buildings, desecrating the very things tourists have gone there to see and photograph! In  2001, we were in London on a tour and  I was saddened to see signs in Trafalgar Square that read: Do Not Feed the Birds and Feeding Birds is Illegal. After all, Mary Poppins encouraged feeding the birds as a gesture of goodwill and I was in the Land of Chimney Sweeps and Magical Governesses!  This time there were no birds in Trafalgar Square; I guess the tourists got the message! There were no pigeons.  The Sea Gulls have moved in!

Pigeons coming home to roost

Pigeons are also very important in Egypt. As we drive along the highway, pigeon houses are visible (among all the satellite dishes) on the top of tall buildings. They are made of wood slats--sometimes painted and can house many pigeons. The pigeons are released in the morning to fly about the city. As the end of the day draws near, the pigeons return to their respective homes, attracted by their owners personal flag. Sometimes you can see a young boy atop the roof, waving a flag, calling the family pigeons home.  Back in the day, pigeons were used to carry messages, but that was WAY BACK in time. Sometimes pigeons are raced; owners release their fowl from a specific place and the first ones home are the smartest, most efficient fliers. But most of the time, pigeons are a food source. One of our Egyptian friends told me that it is customary to eat pigeon on ones wedding day....and for seven days after that! It is believed that pigeon makes a man very 'strong!' I was able to capture a couple of good shots of pigeons returning home to a pigeon house!

 Pigeon House in the country (Anafora)

There is another style of pigeon house found in the 'baladi' or agricultural areas. This unique style of house is made of mud, brick and plaster with inset clay roosts. They can be whitewashed or painted and can hold dozens of nesting birds as well.  Here the birds are free to come and go naturally.

















In Israel, I had a pigeon encounter that I will not soon forget!  I was on a tour of the Holy Lands with a group from Highland Park Christian Church in Tulsa. (I met them in Tel Aviv, coming from Egypt). On this particular day we were visiting the Mount of Ascension, the location where tradition has it that Jesus left this earth to go to Heaven to be with our heavenly father.  A small chapel stands humbly over the site of the Ascension, and the rock that bears His footprint. Large enough for about the 12 of us, (and one pigeon),  we were standing around the 'footprint' rock listening to our tour guide's explanation when all of a sudden, I was hit on the head! Falling rock? No, a pigeon who needed to relieve itself! Right on my head!

Footprint of Jesus on the Mt. of Ascension

 It brought back a memory of a Christmas long ago when my daughter, Sheyenne, was talking to the Toy Soldier at Utica Square, looking him square in the eye when a pigeon pooped right in her face! This was the beginning of my 'payback' from that time when I was laughing so hard, I could not stand up for fear of wetting my pants. That was not one of my prouder moments as a parent. My daughter was crying, I was laughing, and my husband was saying, "Kimberly! Kimberly! KIMBERLY" Oh My!

Back to my story; I felt like I had been hit with a pea shooter! Trying to act nonchalant, I did not think anyone had noticed. After our guide finished talking,  several people around me came to my aid and  with many Kleenexes, we cleaned it out of my hair (for the most part).  As we filed out of the chapel past the guide, he leaned over to me and said, " In Israel, we call that Holy Shit!"  Appropriate!

                                                              

The final encounter I want to tell you about occurred when John and Phyllis Wilson were here in Cairo for a visit. We had gone to the Citadel to see the beautiful  Mohammed Ali Mosque. I had been there several times so I sat on the red carpet and watched people while John and Phyllis took photos.  If you notice in these photos, there are blue outlines on the red carpet. These are spaces for people to kneel and pray; facing toward Mecca. You can see this mosque would hold a lot of people! This particular day there were a lot of school kids visiting. They came up to me and asked, "How are you? What is your name? Where do you come from?"  They were very cute but as they turned to run away toward the teacher, Smack! something hit me on the back! "Those kids threw something on me!" was my first thought. "The little stinkers hit me with a tomato!" was my next thought! Well, I felt around to the wetness on my back and what my hand revealed was NOT tomato in origin! About that time, John comes by and seeing what happened says to me, "Man, some bird dropped a load on you!" It must have been a stool pigeon!