Turkey is for the birds. I mean, every year millions of birds migrate from Europe to Africa

by way of Turkey. There are red hawks, there are imperial eagles, there are storks and

so many more. And some of these birds, like storks, passing through the holesties of

Mecca and Medina and also the Jerusalem. And people, considering this verse, kind of like pilgrims.

So back during the days of the Ottoman Empire, mainly from the 16th to 18th century, the

people of Istanbul, who were good hosts to pilgrims generally, they built sanctuaries where

these weary winged bird travelers could rest. But these sanctuaries, they weren't bird houses

like you commonly think of them. They're not cute little wooden boxes you hang on a tree.

No, this is Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire, home to soaring domed mosques, imposing stone

fortresses and towering minaret. So they did not build bird houses. They built bird palaces.

And they put them up right there on the side of the buildings.

The architect tried to show their artistic expression to this birthless. Like an example,

I can just say that some art historians even say that it is form of a sculpture.

I'm Dolan Thoris and this is Atlas Obserah. A celebration of the world's strange, incredible

and wondrous places. And today we go to Istanbul's old city to wander down narrow lanes and

hear the history of these luxurious homes built for our fine feathered friends. More

after this.

When I was a little kid, I was going to Suleymania Mosque for a gathering. And my father told

me that if you just look at the upper place, you see that there is a small cage for

the birds. And I looked at it, I saw just a bird palace.

That's Fatih Tonser. He is a native of Istanbul. He is a bird lover. And he is a freelance

journalist with a passion for Turkish culture. As far as bird palaces go, the one outside

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