Carrier pigeons have been an important part of communication throughout history, and today they still have numerous fans who carefully care for them in special cages and with special food on the roofs of their houses or in their homes. There are even competitions for the incredible birds, and they are set to get heated this year in Türkiye.

In fact, the homing pigeons bred in Osmaniye will soon turn their route to Europe.

Carrier pigeons were used for communication in the past due to their unique ability to navigate long distances and find their way home, which makes them perfect for racing. The carrier pigeons, which were flown from Istanbul in the races held last year and arrived in Osmaniye the next day, will try to find their way home by flapping their wings in the races to be held on May 29.

The racers are fed special food prepared with corn, peas, rice, molasses and olive oil and are kept in cages on the roofs of apartment buildings or in rooms of houses. To prepare for their long flight, they get a chance to stretch their wings and fly twice a day.

Yunus Akdağ, president of Amanos Carrier Pigeon Lovers Foundation, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the use of carrier pigeons dates back to ancient times.

Explaining that carrier pigeons played an active role and were often used in wars in the past, Akdağ stated that the interest in these birds is gradually decreasing with developing technology.

Akdağ stated that they established a foundation for the continuation of the interest in caring for carrier pigeons. "The homing pigeons that served humanity in ancient times have begun to be forgotten with the developing technology. We have established our foundation so that this old tradition is not forgotten and is passed on to future generations," he said.

"We have two races a year in the juvenile and adult categories. In this context, we had a race from Istanbul to Osmaniye last year. Our carrier pigeons, which we released from Istanbul on Saturday morning, arrived at their home in Osmaniye on Sunday morning. Our target this year is Bulgaria, that is (we will fly carrier pigeons) from Europe to the Asian continent."

Expressing that the first race held by the Turkish Pigeon Federation will start from the Feke district of Adana to Istanbul on March 11 this year, Akdağ noted that those who are successful in the event will be able to participate in the Bulgarian stage on May 29.