By Stephen PeirisBeirut
16 March 2016
Many people in the Middle
East love pigeons - it's a passion that can dissolve all religious
and national divisions. Some of the finest birds were bred in Syria Lebanon
"Five kilometres from here are the
marijuana fields," I'm told as I step out of the car in front of a pet
shop in Lebanon 's North Bekaa
Valley
Darkness enshrouds us. An ape in a cage
stares as I walk past. I pause to take a photo but a strong arm pulls me away.
"No photos outside. This is
Hezbollah territory."
I had already worked that out. The
marijuana fields are Hezbollah's too - and apparently a significant source of
income. But my companions seem less relaxed than before so I put the camera
away and ask if this means we're in danger.
"No," comes the answer.
"You're here with Nasser
al-Hindi. You're here for the pigeons."
My interest in the pigeon smugglers of Syria was sparked in Amman ,
the cosmopolitan capital of Jordan ,
at Nasser al-Hindi's home.
He has bred pigeons for more than 30
years and the coop on his roof contains birds unlike any ever seen mobbing
tourists on London Trafalgar Square
The breeds have poetic names - Ablak,
Baghdadi, Rihani, Shikli. Some specimens are valued at $15,000 (£10,500) or
more and many wear jewelled anklets on their feet.
The full collection is worth well over
$1m (£705,000) and the 250-plus birds live in a style that befits their value:
the coop is air-conditioned, with rows of individual cages for star pigeons,
and a separate veterinary wing.
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