Before the morning light is complete above the rooftops of Darayya (Rural Damascus, southwestern Syria), dozens of pigeons have already reached the edges of walls and the roof of the loft before their owner.
Some stand still and watch, some move in short steps across the concrete, while others fly in wide circles before returning to the same place they know.
Rafiq Jamal al-Din climbs to the roof carrying his cup of coffee and sits on a plastic chair in the open space, while pigeons spread around him without fear.
The scene does not seem exceptional to him. It has repeated for years, becoming part of his daily routine.
He wears a black cap and a gray jacket over a red shirt, spending more time watching the birds than speaking about them.
From time to time, he gives a short whistle or waves a piece of cloth in the air. A group of pigeons responds, rises together into the sky, then begins circling above the neighborhood.
Rafiq does not consider himself a pigeon trader and does not speak of the hobby as a source of income. For him, it is enough that his day begins among the birds.
“I like to go up in the morning and sit beside them for two hours, drink a cup of coffee, send them up for a round or two, then go to my friend. We drink a glass of tea and sit together,” he told Enab Baladi.
The Story Began at Age 10
Rafiq finds it difficult to identify the exact moment when he became a pigeon fancier, because the hobby was already present at home before he was able to raise birds himself.
He said he began raising pigeons when he was around 10 years old, adding that his grandfather was a pigeon fancier, as were his brother and another sibling. The hobby passed through three generations of the family.
He describes it as an “obsession,” using a local term common among pigeon fanciers in Syria for a hobby that is hard to give up, no matter how many years pass.
But he also sees a positive side to this obsession.
“It is nice when it does not harm your neighbor, nice when it does not hurt your neighbor. It is an obsession that keeps you away from people. You sit with your pigeon fancier friends and talk about what you bought, what you sold, and what you bred,” Rafiq said.
In his view, this obsession gives him more than pleasure. It also keeps him away from people’s talk and daily problems. It occupies him with his birds and their condition, and with the gatherings of pigeon fanciers that revolve around new chicks, medicines, breeding results, the pigeons that returned to the loft, and those that landed somewhere else.
Pigeon fancier Rafiq holds one of his pigeons on the roof of his home in Darayya, July 1, 2026. (Enab Baladi)
A Small Pigeon Loft, An Entire World
In the corner of the rooftop stands the pigeon loft, a simple room made of blocks, wood, and wire mesh. From the outside, it gives little indication of what happens inside.
Behind the small door, pairs of pigeons spend most of the day before going out to fly or look for grain and water.
The birds do not look alike, as a first-time visitor might think. For Rafiq, each pigeon has a different shape, a different behavior, and even a different way of flying.
Pointing to one yellowish-brown pigeon, he said it belongs to the shakli asfar, or yellow shakli, type, explaining that it has now become a mother, that its first chick has begun leaving the loft, and that it is preparing to lay new eggs.
He does not need to look at the leg band to know the pigeon, nor to hold it in his hands. It is enough for him to see it fly.
“I Know It While It Is in the Sky”
One of the most striking things in Rafiq’s account is his confidence in his ability to distinguish his pigeons while they are flying among dozens of birds.
He said he can tell whether a strange pigeon has entered his flock before it lands on the roof.
“If I have 200 birds and a strange bird comes among them, I know it. My birds have their own way of flying, and if there is a strange bird, it is clear among them,” he explained.
The matter is not limited to his pigeons alone. He said he also knows the pigeons of several neighbors and pigeon fanciers in the neighborhood, adding, “Any pigeon that flies above me, I know whose it is.”
Rafiq does not consider this ability a special skill, but the result of long years spent watching the birds. Each flock, he said, develops its own way of flying and returning to the loft.
He does not explain this only through visible markings on the pigeons, but through the flight pattern itself. Each flock moves with a similar rhythm, while a strange bird appears less in harmony with the group, making it stand out to the breeder before it lands.
A flock of pigeons flies above Abu Rafiq’s loft in Darayya, July 1, 2026. (Enab Baladi)
From Egg to First Flight
A pigeon fancier’s attention does not begin when a chick becomes able to fly, but from the moment the egg appears.
Rafiq explained that a chick needs about two weeks to stand on its feet and begin growing feathers, then remains under its parents’ care for about three weeks before leaving the loft and beginning to eat on its own.
As the first chicks begin leaving, the female has already started a new production cycle, laying more eggs while the parents turn to feeding the new young.
The first flight comes about a month after hatching, when the wings have developed enough to carry the bird in the air.
But flight, for him, does not mean the end of raising the bird. The chick then needs training and must get used to the times for going out and returning until it becomes part of the flock.
“If you get it used to going out in the afternoon, it gets used to it. If you get it used to going out all day, it also gets used to it,” he said.
Rafiq believes regular training is what makes pigeons know when to leave and return, and keeps them attached to the loft.
Breeds Passed Among Fanciers
The world of pigeons in Darayya is not limited to local pigeons. It includes names passed among local fanciers for decades, differing according to color, feather shape, or flying style.
Rafiq said the most common types among fanciers today are the matawiq, bulq, maharif, masawid bi-humr, and shakli bi-humr.
These are local names circulated among pigeon fanciers in Damascus and Rural Damascus. Their meanings may differ from one area to another, but they generally refer to local lines or types distinguished by color, body shape, or flying traits.
The matawiq are usually known for a collar or colored band around the neck, while bulq refers to piebald pigeons that combine white and colored plumage in varying proportions.
As for the shakali, maharif, and masawid bi-humr, they are names pigeon fanciers use to describe local lines that have preserved their traits through selection and mating among breeders, rather than globally registered breeds.
Rafiq noted that these breeds have become expensive. He said the prices of some distinctive birds start at around $500 and can reach $2,000 for a single bird, depending on the breed, production qualities, and flight traits.
But he clarified that the pigeons he raises are not from this expensive category. “The ones I have are ordinary, so I do not go to anyone to ask, and no one comes to ask me,” Rafiq said.
Rafiq’s pigeons eat grain on the roof of his home in Darayya, July 1, 2026. (Enab Baladi)
The Original Damascene Bloodlines Have Left
One of the things Rafiq regrets most is the disappearance of what he calls the “original Damascene bloodlines.”
By this, he means the local production lines that were widespread among breeders in Damascus and its countryside before the years of war, before displacement and forced migration led many breeders and their birds to move to neighboring countries.
“The original Damascene bloodlines all went to Jordan,” he said.
He does not mean that they went extinct, but that most of them moved outside Syria, where a number of Syrian breeders continued to preserve and reproduce them.
He believes the fanciers who remained in Darayya are now trying to gradually rebuild these breeds by buying birds from other breeders and working to produce them again.
Not Every Pigeon Lands Easily
Rafiq noted that raising pigeons is not only about releasing them into the sky, but also about understanding their behavior after they return.
He said some birds land directly in the loft, while others need more time before settling down.
For that reason, he does not treat all pigeons in the same way.
He added that he avoids catching all the birds at once so they are not injured and their wings are not broken. Instead, he brings back only the birds he needs and leaves the rest until they land calmly.
As for birds he keeps for breeding, he may temporarily trim part of their wing feathers so they do not leave the place before adapting, a practice known among some pigeon fanciers when introducing new birds to the loft.
Rafiq’s pigeons stand on the edge of his rooftop in Darayya July 1, 2026. (Enab Baladi)
Rules No One Writes
Although the hobby appears simple from the outside, Rafiq said it has customs that fanciers agree on without the need for written rules.
The most important of these customs concerns the pigeon that lands in a neighbor’s loft.
If there is a prior agreement between two fanciers, whoever catches the pigeon returns it to its owner. Hiding it is considered a violation of the customs pigeon fanciers are used to.
“If he catches one of my birds, he gives it to me, and if I catch one of his birds, I give it to him,” he said.
He added that the dispute begins when someone hides the pigeon and denies having it.
“He tells you, ‘By God, I caught only one.’ Why are you lying to me? I know where the bird went,” Rafiq explained, stressing that such disputes are not only about the value of the pigeon, but also about trust between fanciers.
Still, he is careful to distinguish between competition within the hobby and personal relationships, explaining that pigeon fanciers visit one another constantly and exchange conversations about breeding and production, even if they later disagree over a bird that landed in the wrong place.
“They are my friends. I go into their homes, they come into mine, and we laugh together.”
Rafiq flies his pigeons above the roof of his home, July 1, 2026. (Enab Baladi)
Daily Care Is More Than Releasing Pigeons
Although many people associate pigeon keeping with releasing birds into the sky and watching them fly, Rafiq believes the largest part of the hobby begins on the ground.
Feeding, cleaning, monitoring the birds’ health, and training chicks are all daily tasks no less important than flying itself.
He said a chick needs different care in its early stages. At first it depends on its parents, but the breeder must provide suitable food so the parents can feed it well.
He added that the best grains for this stage include jalbana, or dried peas, small yellow corn, and safflower seeds, because they help the chick grow and gain strength.
After the chick begins relying on itself, the variety of food gradually increases. Barley is reserved for adult pigeons that go out to fly regularly, because, according to his experience, it is lighter food.
Care does not stop with food. A pigeon fancier constantly monitors the birds to detect any signs of illness, such as eye infections or weakness. When needed, he uses veterinary medicines intended for pigeons, stressing that daily prevention remains more important than treatment.
Folk Recipes and Years of Experience
Alongside veterinary medicines, Rafiq relies on nutritional mixtures that he prepares himself during the summer.
He said he mixes turmeric, ginger, cumin, garlic, and onions, then adds them to the drinking water.
He believes this mixture helps strengthen pigeons’ immunity against heat, especially during the breeding season.
There are not enough scientific studies proving the effectiveness of these mixtures in the formula he uses. However, the use of some of their ingredients, such as garlic or turmeric, is common among pigeon and ornamental bird breeders in the region as traditional nutritional supplements. Veterinarians, meanwhile, recommend relying primarily on balanced nutrition, cleanliness, vaccines, and veterinary medicines when needed.
For Rafiq, however, the matter comes down to experience spanning more than four decades.
The Pigeons Know Their Way, And So Does Their Owner
Rafiq does not close the loft door at night or during the day. The pigeons, he said, are so used to the place that they know the way back on their own.
“I wake up in the morning and find them all spread out on the walls. I whistle to them, and they all take off,” he said.
He explained that pigeon training begins when the birds are young. Some breeders release chicks for specific hours each day so they become used to returning at a certain time, while others leave them free most of the day, depending on the nature of the loft and the area.
He stressed that sticking to a daily program makes the birds more stable and less likely to get lost.
Rafiq enjoys drinking tea and watching his pigeons on the roof of his home in Darayya, July 1, 2026. (Enab Baladi)
“A Pigeon Fancier’s Testimony Is Not Accepted”
One of the most widely circulated phrases in Damascene folk heritage is, “A pigeon fancier’s testimony is not accepted.”
When Enab Baladi asked him about it, Rafiq smiled before telling an old story.
He said he was once in court when someone asked him to be a witness to a marriage contract, so he jokingly apologized because he was a “pigeon fancier,” recalling the well-known folk saying.
He explained the origin of the phrase by saying that some pigeon fanciers in the past used to deny owning a pigeon that landed with them, or swore solemn oaths to hide the truth in order to keep the bird.
“They say a pigeon fancier will swear by his mother, father, and children for the sake of a bird,” he added.
But the phrase remains a common folk saying, expressing an old stereotype associated with some pigeon fanciers. It does not mean their legal or social testimony is actually in doubt, but is used as a joke or a form of popular exaggeration.
An Obsession That Stayed in Darayya
Many things changed in Darayya over the past years, but pigeon lofts remained present on a number of rooftops.
Some returned with homeowners after years of displacement, and some were rebuilt gradually, while breeders like Rafiq try to preserve a hobby they inherited from their fathers and grandfathers.
For him, pigeon keeping is not summed up by buying and selling, nor by the value of rare birds, but by the hours he spends beside them every morning.
“I like to go up in the morning, sit beside them for two hours, drink a cup of coffee, and send them up.”
As the flocks continue to circle above Darayya’s sky, this scene remains, for those who carry the obsession, part of a daily life they have known for decades, more than a flight display or a competition among breeders.
The post An Obsession Inherited From His Grandfather, Pigeon Fancier Rafiq Knows His Birds in the Sky appeared first on Enab Baladi.