Bonab's Pigeon Houses

I still remember vividly that back in 1340, solar calendar, most pigeon houses were still working. In our neighborhood, Oalad-e Zokur, there used to be three pigeon houses built in corners of large yards.
They were either round or cubical, with approximate dimensions of 10*7 and a height of 7 m. One was built in the house of Haji Hussein Meisami, with gardens on the north and west parts. The pigeons could drink water in the stream named Mulla Ahmad in the area without anyone intruding. They were protected and fed in rainy seasons, especially in winter, since it was hard then for the pigeons to find seeds. Pigeon houses were built in the yards and the dung from them was used in agriculture. The owners would also sell the remainder of the waste to renovate pigeon houses and restore them.
You wouldn't want to miss the enjoyable sight of the flocks of pigeons flying or resting on the tower. The birds would sing beautifully. Most of the towers of pigeon houses were built with inexpensive materials like clay and adobe. On the first 3 to 4 m of the walls, clay was used, but the rest would be built by adobe since it was hard to lift clay beyond that height.
Mud-straw beautified the exterior and interior of the buildings. Throughout all the neighborhoods of Bonab , the nearby villages and gardens, pigeon houses were built. The lands of the city were adorned with beautiful fields and the flow of abundant rivers from Sufi Chai , Mehr Ava and Ghubi streams and other currents of the city.
In fields some farmers planted and cultivated crops twice a year; for instance after cultivating wheat or cucumbers, which were grown and consumed in a shorter time, they planted radish and carrot seeds and cultivated their lands twice. It was only possible through the natural waste of pigeon droppings, which strengthened the lands to produce better crops.
In fact, the manure acquired from pigeon houses or other natural manure fortified the land to grow many crops.
To make manure they took advantage of pigeons. Gardeners mainly used the waste of the pigeon houses, especially for vine trees.
This way of manuring is still common among traditional farmers. The farmers, who grew local cucumbers, watermelons, and melons, mixed human waste with ash from the traditional home-made ovens and made manure for their lands.
But with the development of chemical manure the farmers were provided with inexpensive and subsidised chemical manure and so natural soil fertilisers were no more economical. After the revolution of Iran and back in 1370, a 50-kg bag of manure, priced at 600 Tomans, was given out to the people from Agricultural Jihad. It was so inexpensive that it wouldn't even make up for the rent to carry them.
Farmers ignorant of the destructive effects of chemical manures consumed them excessively on their cultivated lands, and to avoid the poor crops they would water them constantly and in short intervals. They wasted underground water resources. Agricultural drugs and pesticides were also added to the chemicals.
Growing onions, which is developing in the last couple of years suffered an especially terrible impact in this regard. Pigeons and pigeon houses were the first victims of this movement. They were destroyed one after another. Lots of fertile lands were devastated as a result.
Chemical fertilizers increased the risk of cancer among people. In fact they were the next victims.
The next hit was on its way; drying up of the rivers, followed by the disturbing loud machinery which hurt the pigeons on one hand and on the other the uninterrupted, unnecessary, use of pesticides for trees and contamination of hay seeds on the ground which fed the birds, hunting them with guns at night, attacks by Mongol tribes on the villages which kept pigeons and predatory birds which attacked them once the pigeons were out were in fact the main struggles for house owners. These all led to the destruction of pigeons and their houses.
And finally, abandoning traditional hard, yet fruitful, manual work among the new generation and in the new civilization, the lack of manpower to manage pigeon houses, as well as the low price of agricultural crops, the expense of constructing or restoring pigeon houses, weakening of customs and traditional beliefs and lifting the prohibition of hunting wild pigeons and Kaftar Chahi, a kind of pigeon, were all important factors to put an end to the pigeon houses.
In the old days, there was a widespread belief in preventing the hunting of pigeons, which are the holy symbols of peace and love, and to keep them inside the house. Their sanctity has led them to the shrines of imams and their hunting was ominous, so the people wouldn't harm them or destroy their nests. Basically, the pigeons which reflect peace and affection in most of the countries and pigeon houses have long been in place.
Architecture of pigeon houses
The first step to build a pigeon house was to examine the location. It should be close to a stream, a plain or near a river. Second, it should be in an open space without any disturbing sounds or action that might scare and horrify the pigeons. Otherwise, they will leave the house .
Those who owned large houses and needed their manure in farming would make pigeon houses and protect the birds feeding them.
Pigeon houses were built in cubes, cylinders, and multi-dimensional structures either in a solitary location or in a couple of constructions close to each other, with a length of 14 to 25 m, a width of 6 to 10 m and height of 7 to 10 m. Depending on the location, the need of the owner of the pigeon house to manure and his investment, his interest in and motivation for keeping birds, and his management power the area devoted for it was planned.
The exterior of the pigeon houses:
A small door was placed for the birds to get in and out and to collect manure and droppings.
In some pigeon houses the entrance way was separated from where the manure was collected and taken out. Small windows of bricks or wood or clay tiles with holes let the birds in and out. Their dimensions were almost 15*8 cm with a depth of 20 to 30 cm.
Pigeons had a role in promoting income and especially the farming economy of the residents. The main needs of watering and supplying manure with pigeon droppings guaranteed high-quality and large-scale produce. Iranians like other ethnic groups have long recognised the significance of this harmless bird, now a symbol of peace and friendship throughout the globe.
Pigeon houses are considered tourist highlights with their unique diverse architecture, shape and size of the buildings, their great harmony with nature and the surrounding beauties and especially with their amazing structures.