Before dawn, Dubai feels like it is holding its breath. The highways run quiet, the skyline a soft mirage of light, and beyond it all the desert waits-vast, patient, and unexpectedly alive. A hot air balloon ride at sunrise turns this pause into a memory you can keep: the slow bloom of color on the horizon, the hush that descends when the burners cut off, and the way the dunes ripple like an ocean frozen mid-swell.
The day starts in the dark. There's something adventurous about being collected at an hour when most of the city still sleeps, bundled into a vehicle that soon trades asphalt for sand. Dubai hot air balloon tour with camel ride . As you arrive at the launch site, the desert air bites a little-cooler than you'd expect for a place known for its furnace summers. The balloon envelopes lie silk-flat on the ground, and crews move with the quiet precision of a stage change. Flames roar to life, painting the night with sudden gold, and the balloon billows awake, slowly becoming a shape you recognize, then a presence you can step into.
Lifting off is nothing like the drop of an airplane or the push of an elevator. It's gentler, a slow exhale. The ground falls away as if it's shy, and the world opens up with grace. Hot air balloon Dubai light breeze You're held not by noise or thrust, but by air warmed just enough to make the sky agree to carry you. Up there, the silence is the kind you don't realize you've missed. Conversations lower to whispers. Cameras come out, then go quiet again because no lens seems wide enough to hold what your eyes are drinking in.
When the sun finally edges over the horizon, the desert becomes a cathedral. Shadows carve texture into the dunes.
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Lines appear that weren't visible from the ground: the soft trails of nocturnal animals, the secret geometry of wind. If you're lucky, you'll spot movement-a spine of Arabian oryx against the sand, a cluster of gazelles flickering across a valley, a lone camel ambling with an unhurried certainty that feels almost philosophical. The patterns are the story; from above, you begin to understand how time moves differently here, measured not by clocks but by the choreography of light and wind.
Ballooning over Dubai's desert has a unique rhythm.
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The pilot adjusts the burners with a craftsman's touch, guiding the basket with patience rather than command. There's no steering wheel up there, no quick corrections. You drift with purpose, but also with respect for the air itself. When the flames roar, heat licks the back of your neck and paints the balloon's fabric in warm oranges. Then the burner stops, and the hush returns, a suspended moment in a landscape that can make you feel both very small and beautifully connected.
Landing is its own small adventure, a return to gravity that can be smooth or spirited depending on the wind. The sand receives you with a sigh. To stand again on shifting ground after floating weightless above it is to appreciate both states in new ways. Hot air balloon Margham sunrise Your legs remember they're meant for earth; your head refuses to come down so quickly.
What follows often feels like a nod to the romance of old desert travel. You might arrive at a Bedouin-inspired camp, the smell of cardamom coffee and fresh bread drifting through the air. A traditional breakfast tastes earned when you've watched the day unfurl from the sky. For some, there's a falconry demonstration-these birds, symbols of heritage and skill here, slicing the air with a grace that mirrors the morning's quiet flight. Others will choose a short ride on a camel or slip into a vintage Land Rover for a meander over compacted sand, where dune-bashing is more dance than sport, careful of the ecosystem under its wheels.
There's a practical side to all this beauty.
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The best balloon flights happen in the cooler months, when mornings are crisp and the air is steady. Summer's heat can be punishing, and the desert deserves respect-sun protection, water, clothing that breathes. Safety briefings matter; listen to them. Good operators treat the balloon like the noble machine it is and the desert like the living landscape it has always been. It's worth choosing a company that doesn't just sell a view but understands the place that view comes from.
Photographers will tell you that the desert at sunrise is a generous subject. The light is kind, the shadows honest. But the best images come when you remember to look with your eyes first and your lens second. There's a tactile quality to the morning air, a faint mineral scent that rises as the day warms, a quiet that threads through your ribcage. These are hard to capture and impossible to forget.
Dubai is a city that loves spectacle, and it wears it well-glass towers, choreographed fountains, the bright ambition of a place that has made a home where the earth once insisted there shouldn't be one. The desert safari and hot air balloon experience is a counterpoint to that dazzle, a way of meeting the landscape that preceded the city by eons. It's not about adrenaline or altitude records. It's about recalibration. Time stretches. Priorities realign. Amid all the curated experiences a traveler can seek, this one feels honest: the wind decides more than you do, and the horizon keeps its secrets unless you rise early and ask politely.
By the time you return to the city, the traffic has warmed up, and the day is in full swing. The desert clings to you in small ways-fine sand at the edge of a shoe, a touch of rose in your cheeks, a quiet inside that resists the volume of everyday things. You might find yourself glancing back toward that wide band of land beyond the skyscrapers, thinking of the balloon shrinking to a dot and then to nothing, the sky stitching itself closed behind you. It's a simple story, really: a basket, some flame, a wide, patient sea of sand. But in the telling, and the living, it becomes larger.
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It becomes the way you remember Dubai-not just as a city of invention, but as a place where the day begins with silence, light, and the slow, generous lift of air. Hot air balloon Dubai proposal flight
About Falconry
Hunting with a trained bird of prey
For the album, see Slechtvalk.
A Eurasian goshawkFlying a saker falcon
Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person involved in falconry: a "falconer" flies a falcon; an "austringer" (Old French origin) keeps Eurasian goshawks and uses accipiters for hunting. In modern falconry, the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), and the peregrine falcon (Falco perigrinus) are some of the more commonly used birds of prey. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called hawking or "gamehawking", although the words hawking and hawker have become used so much to refer to petty traveling traders, that the terms "falconer" and "falconry" now apply to most use of trained birds of prey to catch game. However, many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning.
In early English falconry literature, the word "falcon" referred to a female peregrine falcon only, while the word "hawk" or "hawke" referred to a female hawk. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a "tiercel" (sometimes spelled "tercel"), as it was roughly one-third less than the female in size.[1][2] This traditional Arabian sport grew throughout Europe. Falconry is also an icon of Arabian culture. The saker falcon used by Arabs for falconry is called by Arabs "Hur" i.e. Free-bird,[citation needed] and it has been used in falconry in the Arabian Peninsula since ancient times. Saker falcons are the national bird of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Yemen and have been integral to Arab heritage and culture for over 9,000 years. They are the national emblem of many Arab countries.[3][4]
Birds used in contemporary falconry
[edit]
Several raptors are used in falconry. They are typically classed as:
"Broadwings": Buteo and Parabuteo spp., and eagles (red-tailed hawks, Harris's hawks, golden eagles)
Owls are also used, although they are far less common.
In determining whether a species can or should be used for falconry, the species' behaviour in a captive environment, its responsiveness to training, and its typical prey and hunting habits are considered. To some degree, a species' reputation will determine whether it is used, although this factor is somewhat harder to objectively gauge.
Species for beginners
[edit]
In North America, the capable red-tailed hawk is commonly flown by beginner falconers during their apprenticeship.[5][6] Opinions differ on the usefulness of the kestrel for beginners due to its inherent fragility. In the UK, beginner falconers are often permitted to acquire a larger variety of birds, but Harris's hawk and the red-tailed hawk remain the most commonly used for beginners and experienced falconers alike.[7] Red-tailed hawks are held in high regard in the UK due to the ease of breeding them in captivity, their inherent hardiness, and their capability hunting the rabbits and hares commonly found throughout the countryside in the UK. Many falconers in the UK and North America switch to accipiters or large falcons following their introduction with easier birds. In the US, accipiters, several types of buteos, and large falcons are only allowed to be owned by falconers who hold a general license. The three kinds of falconry licenses in the United States, typically, are the apprentice class, general class, and master class.
Soaring hawks and the common buzzard (Buteo)
[edit]
A falconer's red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
The genus Buteo, known as "buzzards" in the Old World and "hawks" in North America, has a worldwide distribution. The North American species red-tailed hawk, ferruginous hawk, and rarely, the red-shouldered hawk, are all examples of species from this genus that are used in falconry today. The red-tailed hawk is hardy and versatile, taking rabbits, hares, and squirrels; given the right conditions, it can catch the occasional duck or pheasant. The red-tailed hawk is also considered a good bird for beginners. The Eurasian common buzzard is also used, although this species requires more perseverance if rabbits are to be hunted.
Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)
[edit]
Harris's hawk used in falconryFalconer with a Harris's hawk
Parabuteo unicinctus is one of two representatives of the Parabuteo genus worldwide. The other is the white-rumped hawk (P. leucorrhous). Arguably the best rabbit or hare raptor available anywhere, Harris's hawk is also adept at catching birds. Often captive-bred, Harris's hawk is remarkably popular because of its temperament and ability. It is found in the wild living in groups or packs, and hunts cooperatively, with a social hierarchy similar to wolves. This highly social behaviour is not observed in any other bird-of-prey species, and is very adaptable to falconry. This genus is native to the Americas from southern Texas and Arizona to South America. Harris's hawk is often used in the modern technique of car hawking (or drive-by falconry), where the raptor is launched from the window of a moving car at suitable prey.
True hawks (Astur and Accipiter)
[edit]
The genera Astur and Accipiter are also found worldwide. Hawk expert[citation needed] Mike McDermott once said, "The attack of the accipiters is extremely swift, rapid, and violent in every way". They are well known in falconry use both in Europe and North America. The Eurasian goshawk has been trained for falconry for hundreds of years, taking a variety of birds and mammals. Other popular Accipiter species used in falconry include Cooper's hawk and the sharp-shinned hawk in North America and the European sparrowhawk in Europe and Eurasia.
Harriers (Circus)
[edit]
New Zealand is likely to be one of the few countries to use a harrier species for falconry; there, falconers successfully hunt with the Australasian harrier (Circus approximans).[8]
A lanner falcon with its lure
Falcons (Falco)
[edit]
The genus Falco is found worldwide and has occupied a central niche in ancient and modern falconry. Most falcon species used in falconry are specialized predators, most adapted to capturing bird prey, such as the peregrine falcon and merlin. A notable exception is the use of desert falcons such the saker falcon in ancient and modern falconry in Asia and Western Asia, where hares were and are commonly taken. In North America, the prairie falcon and the gyrfalcon can capture small mammal prey such as rabbits and hares (as well as the standard gamebirds and waterfowl) in falconry, but this is rarely practiced. Young falconry apprentices in the United States often begin practicing the art with American kestrels, the smallest of the falcons in North America; debate remains on this, as they are small, fragile birds, and can die easily if neglected.[9] Small species, such as kestrels, merlins and hobbys, are most often flown on small birds such as starlings or sparrows, but can also be used for recreational bug hawking – that is, hunting large flying insects such as dragonflies, grasshoppers, and moths.
Owls (Strigidae)
[edit]
A barn owl landing on a falconer's hand
Owls (family Strigidae) are not closely related to hawks or falcons. Little is written in classic falconry that discusses the use of owls in falconry. However, at least two species have successfully been used, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the great horned owl.[10] Successful training of owls is much different from the training of hawks and falcons, as they are hearing- rather than sight-oriented. (Owls can only see black and white, and are long-sighted.) This often leads falconers to believe that they are less intelligent, as they are distracted easily by new or unnatural noises, and they do not respond as readily to food cues. However, if trained successfully, owls show intelligence on the same level as those of hawks and falcons.
Large eagles (Aquila)
[edit]
A Mongolian man inspects his golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) before competing in an eagle hunting contest in northern Mongolia
Main article: Hunting with eagles
The genus Aquila (all have "booted" or feathered tarsi) has a nearly worldwide distribution. The more powerful types are used in falconry; for example golden eagles (A. chrysaetos) have reportedly been used to hunt wolves[11] in Kazakhstan, and are now most widely used by the Altaic Kazakh eagle hunters in the western Mongolian province of Bayan-Ölgii to hunt foxes,[12][13][14][15][16] and other large prey, as they are in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.[17] Most are primarily ground-oriented, but occasionally take birds. Eagles are not used as widely in falconry as other birds of prey, due to the lack of versatility in the larger species (they primarily hunt over large, open ground), the greater potential danger to other people if hunted in a widely populated area, and the difficulty of training and managing an eagle. A little over 300 active falconers are using eagles in Central Asia, with 250 in western Mongolia, 50 in Kazakhstan, and smaller numbers in Kyrgyzstan and western China.[15]
Sea eagles (Haliaeetus)
[edit]
Most species in the genus Haliaeetus catch and eat fish, some almost exclusively, but in countries where they are not protected, some have been effectively used in hunting for ground quarry.[citation needed] Bald eagles (H. leucocephalus) have been tried by law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands and elsewhere for catching illegal drones,[18] though the experiment was not successful outside of trials, as the eagles were easily distracted.[19]
Husbandry, training, and equipment
[edit]
Main articles: Hack (falconry) and Falconry training and technique
Falconry around the world
[edit]
A brown falcon used for falconry in Tasmania
Falconry is currently practiced in many countries around the world. The falconer's traditional choice of bird is the Eurasian and American goshawks and peregrine falcon. In contemporary falconry in both North America and the UK, they remain popular, although Harris' hawks and red-tailed hawks are likely more widely used. The Eurasian goshawk and the golden eagle are more commonly used in Eastern Europe than elsewhere. In the west Asia, the saker falcon is the most traditional species flown against the houbara bustard, sandgrouse, stone-curlew, other birds, and hares. Peregrines and other captive-bred imported falcons are also commonplace. Falconry remains an important part of the Arab heritage and culture. The UAE reportedly spends over US$27 million annually towards the protection and conservation of wild falcons, and has set up several state-of-the-art falcon hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.[20] The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital is the largest falcon hospital in the world. Two breeding farms are in the Emirates, as well as those in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Every year, falcon beauty contests and demonstrations take place at the ADIHEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
A saker falcon used for falconry in QatarA hobbyFalconer from Al Ain, Abu Dhabi[21]
Eurasian sparrowhawks were formerly used to take a range of small birds, but have since fallen out of favour due to their fragility and the availability of various American species.[citation needed]
In North America and the UK, falcons usually fly only after birds. Large falcons are typically trained to fly in the "waiting-on" style, where the falcon climbs and circles above the falconer or dog and the quarry is flushed when the falcon is in the desired commanding position. Classical game hawking in the UK had a brace of peregrine falcons flown against red grouse, or merlins in "ringing" flights after skylarks. Rooks and crows are classic game for the larger falcons, and the magpie, making up in cunning what it lacks in flying ability, is another common target. Short-wings[clarification needed] can be flown in both open and wooded country against a variety of bird and small mammal prey. Most hunting with large falcons requires large, open tracts where the falcon is afforded opportunity to strike or seize its quarry before it reaches cover. Most of Europe practices similar styles of falconry, but with differing degrees of regulation.
Medieval falconers often rode horses, but this is now rare with the exception of contemporary Kazakh and Mongolian falconry. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia, the golden eagle is traditionally flown (often from horseback), hunting game as large as foxes and wolves.[22]
In Japan, the Eurasian goshawk has been used for centuries. Japan continues to honour its strong historical links with falconry (takagari), while adopting some modern techniques and technologies.
In Australia, although falconry is not specifically illegal, it is illegal to keep any type of bird of prey in captivity without the appropriate permits. The only exemption is when the birds are kept for purposes of rehabilitation (for which a licence must still be held), and in such circumstances it may be possible for a competent falconer to teach a bird to hunt and kill wild quarry, as part of its regime of rehabilitation to good health and a fit state to be released into the wild.
In New Zealand, falconry was formally legalised for one species only, the swamp/Australasian harrier (Circus approximans) in 2011. This was only possible with over 25 years of effort from both Wingspan National Bird of Prey Center[23] and the Raptor Association of New Zealand.[24] Falconry can only be practiced by people who have been issued a falconry permit by the Department of Conservation. Tangent aspects, such as bird abatement and raptor rehabilitation, also employ falconry techniques to accomplish their goals.
Falconry today
[edit]
Falconry
Falcons can live into their midteens, with larger hawks living longer and eagles likely to see out middle-aged owners. Through the captive breeding of rescued birds, the last 30 years have had a great rebirth of the sport, with a host of innovations; falconry's popularity, through lure flying displays at country houses and game fairs, has probably never been higher in the past 300 years. Ornithologist Tim Gallagher, editor of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Living Bird magazine, documented his experiences with modern falconry in a 2008 book, Falcon Fever.[a]
Making use of the natural relationship between raptors and their prey, falconry is now used to control pest birds and animals in urban areas, landfills, commercial buildings,[26] hotels, and airports.[27]
Falconry centres or bird-of-prey centres house these raptors. They are responsible for many aspects of bird-of-prey conservation (through keeping the birds for education and breeding). Many conduct regular flying demonstrations and educational talks, and are popular with visitors worldwide.
Such centres may also provide falconry courses, hawk walks, displays, and other experiences with these raptors.
Starting Falconry in the 21st Century
[edit]
Getting into falconry requires dedication, study, and hands-on experience. In the United States, aspiring falconers must pass a written falconry exam and obtain the appropriate state and federal licenses before keeping a bird of prey. Many beginners start by studying local wildlife laws, bird care, and hunting techniques to prepare for the exam. In the United Kingdom, newcomers often begin by volunteering at a falconry centre or finding an experienced falconer to act as a mentor under the British Falconers’ Club or similar organisations. There are also structured training opportunities, such as professional falconry courses offered by institutions like Falconry Course, which provide comprehensive introductions to the sport, bird handling, and conservation practices.[28]
Clubs and organizations
[edit]
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In the UK, the British Falconers' Club (BFC) is the oldest and largest of the falconry clubs. BFC was founded in 1927 by the surviving members of the Old Hawking Club, itself founded in 1864. Working closely with the Hawk Board, an advisory body representing the interests of UK bird of prey keepers, the BFC is in the forefront of raptor conservation, falconer education, and sustainable falconry. Established in 1927, the BFC now has a membership over 1,200 falconers. It began as a small and elite club, but it is now a sizeable democratic organisation that has members from all walks of life, flying hawks, falcons, and eagles at legal quarry throughout the British Isles.
The North American Falconers Association[29] (NAFA), founded in 1961, is the premier club for falconry in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and has members worldwide. NAFA is the primary club in the United States and has a membership from around the world. Most USA states have their own falconry clubs. Although these clubs are primarily social, they also serve to represent falconers within their states in regards to that state's wildlife regulations.
The International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey,[30] founded in 1968, currently represents 156 falconry clubs and conservation organisations from 87 countries worldwide, totalling over 75,000 members.
The Saudi Falcons Club preserves the historical heritage associated with the falconry culture, and spreads awareness and provides training to protect falcons and flourish falconry.[tone]
Captive breeding and conservation
[edit]
The successful and now widespread captive breeding of birds of prey began as a response to dwindling wild populations due to persistent toxins such as PCBs and DDT, systematic persecution as undesirable predators, habitat loss, and the resulting limited availability of popular species for falconry, particularly the peregrine falcon. The first known raptors to breed in captivity belonged to a German falconer named Renz Waller. In 1942–43, he produced two young peregrines in Düsseldorf in Germany.
Falconry equipment
The first successful captive breeding of peregrine falcons in North America occurred in the early 1970s by the Peregrine Fund, professor and falconer Heinz Meng, and other private falconer/breeders such as David Jamieson and Les Boyd who bred the first peregrines by means of artificial insemination. In Great Britain, falconer Phillip Glasier of the Falconry Centre in Newent, Gloucestershire, was successful in obtaining young from more than 20 species of captive raptors. A cooperative effort began between various government agencies, non-government organizations, and falconers to supplement various wild raptor populations in peril. This effort was strongest in North America where significant private donations along with funding allocations through the Endangered Species Act of 1972 provided the means to continue the release of captive-bred peregrines, golden eagles, bald eagles, aplomado falcons and others. By the mid-1980s, falconers had become self-sufficient as regards sources of birds to train and fly, in addition to the immensely important conservation benefits conferred by captive breeding.
Between 1972 and 2001, nearly all peregrines used for falconry in the U.S. were captive-bred from the progeny of falcons taken before the U. S. Endangered Species Act was passed, and from those few infusions of wild genes available from Canada and special circumstances. Peregrine falcons were removed from the United States' endangered species list on August 25, 1999.[31] Finally, after years of close work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, a limited take of wild peregrines was allowed in 2001, the first wild peregrines taken specifically for falconry in over 30 years.
Some controversy has existed over the origins of captive-breeding stock used by the Peregrine Fund in the recovery of peregrine falcons throughout the contiguous United States. Several peregrine subspecies were included in the breeding stock, including birds of Eurasian origin. Due to the extirpation of the eastern subspecies (Falco peregrinus anatum), its near extirpation in the Midwest, and the limited gene pool within North American breeding stock, the inclusion of non-native subspecies was justified to optimize the genetic diversity found within the species as a whole.[32] Such strategies are common in endangered species reintroduction scenarios, where dramatic population declines result in a genetic bottleneck and the loss of genetic diversity.
Laws regulating the hunting, import and export of wild falcons vary across Asia, and effective enforcement of current national and international regulations is lacking in some regions. It is possible that the spread of captive-bred falcons in falcon markets in the Arabian Peninsula has mitigated this demand for wild falcons.
Hybrid falcons
[edit]
The species within the genus Falco are closely related, and some pairings produce viable offspring. The heavy northern gyrfalcon and Asiatic saker are especially closely related, and whether the Altai falcon is a subspecies of the saker or descendants of naturally occurring hybrids is not known. Peregrine and prairie falcons have been observed breeding in the wild and have produced offspring.[33] These pairings are thought to be rare, but extra-pair copulations between closely related species may occur more frequently and/or account for most natural occurring hybridization. Some male first-generation hybrids may have viable sperm, whereas very few first-generation female hybrids lay fertile eggs. Thus, naturally occurring hybridization is thought to be somewhat insignificant to gene flow in raptor species.
The first hybrid falcons produced in captivity occurred in western Ireland when veteran falconer Ronald Stevens and John Morris put a male saker and a female peregrine into the same moulting mews for the spring and early summer, and the two mated and produced offspring.
Captive-bred hybrid falcons have been available since the late 1970s, and enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity in North America and the UK in the 1990s. Hybrids were initially "created" to combine the horizontal speed and size of the gyrfalcon with the good disposition and aerial ability of the peregrine. Hybrid falcons first gained large popularity throughout the Arabian Peninsula, feeding a demand for particularly large and aggressive female falcons capable and willing to take on the very large houbara bustard, the classic falconry quarry in the deserts of the West Asia. These falcons were also very popular with Arab falconers, as they tended to withstand a respiratory disease (aspergillosis from the mold genus Aspergillus) in stressful desert conditions better than other pure species from the Northern Hemisphere.
Artificial selection and domestication
[edit]
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Some believe that no species of raptor have been in captivity long enough to have undergone successful selective breeding for desired traits. Captive breeding of raptors over several generations tends to result, either deliberately, or inevitably as a result of captivity, in selection for certain traits, including:
Ability to survive in captivity
Ability to breed in captivity
Suitability (in most cases) for interactions with humans for falconry: Birds that demonstrated an unwillingness to hunt with men were most often discarded, rather than being placed in breeding projects
With gyrfalcons in areas away from their natural Arctic tundra habitat, better disease resistance
With gyrfalcons, feather color[34]
Escaped falconry birds
[edit]
The Shaw Monument, a falconry observation tower in Scotland.
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Falconers' birds are inevitably lost on occasion, though most are found again. The main reason birds can be found again is because, during free flights, birds usually wear radio transmitters or bells. The transmitters are in the middle of the tail, on the back, or attached to the bird's legs.
Records of species becoming established in Britain after escaping or being released include:
Escaped Harris's hawks have bred in the wild in Britain on a few occasions, though no naturalised population has become established.[35]
The return of the Eurasian goshawk as a breeding bird to Britain since 1945 is due in large part to falconers' escapes; the earlier British population was wiped out by gamekeepers and egg collectors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
A pair of European eagle owls bred in the wild in Yorkshire for several years, feeding largely or entirely on rabbits. The pair are most likely captive escapees. If this will lead to a population becoming established is not yet known.
In 1986, a lost captive-bred female prairie falcon (which had been cross-fostered by an adult peregrine in captivity) mated with a wild male peregrine in Utah. The prairie falcon was trapped and the eggs removed, incubated, and hatched, and the hybrid offspring were given to falconers. The wild peregrine paired with another peregrine the next year.
Falconry in Hawaii is prohibited largely due to the fears of escaped non-native birds of prey becoming established on the island chain and aggravating an already rampant problem of invasive species impacts on native wildlife and plant communities.
Regulations
[edit]
In Great Britain
[edit]
Mountain hare hunting with a golden eagle in Scotland
In sharp contrast to the US, falconry in Great Britain is permitted without a special license, but a restriction exists of using only captive-bred birds. In the lengthy, record-breaking debates in Westminster during the passage of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Bill, efforts were made by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and other lobby groups to have falconry outlawed, but these were successfully resisted. After a centuries-old but informal existence in Britain, the sport of falconry was finally given formal legal status in Great Britain by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which allowed it to continue, provided all captive raptors native to the UK were officially ringed and government-registered. DNA testing was also available to verify birds' origins. Since 1982, the British government's licensing requirements have been overseen by the Chief Wildlife Act Inspector for Great Britain, who is assisted by a panel of unpaid assistant inspectors.
British falconers are entirely reliant upon captive-bred birds for their sport. The taking of raptors from the wild for falconry, although permitted by law under government licence, has not been allowed in recent decades.
Anyone is permitted to possess legally registered or captive-bred raptors, although falconers are anxious to point out this is not synonymous with falconry, which specifically entails the hunting of live quarry with a trained bird. A raptor kept merely as a possession for pleasure (like an aviary bird), although the law may allow it, is not considered to be a falconer's bird. Birds may be used for breeding or kept after their hunting days are over, but falconers believe it is preferable that young, fit birds are flown at quarry.
In the United States
[edit]
In the United States, falconry is legal in all states except Hawaii, and in the District of Columbia. A falconer must have a state permit to practice the sport. (Requirements for a federal permit were changed in 2008 and the program discontinued effective January 1, 2014.)[36] Acquiring a falconry license in the United States requires an aspiring falconer to pass a written test, have equipment and facilities inspected, and serve a minimum of two years as an apprentice under a licensed falconer, during which time, the apprentice falconer may only possess one raptor. Three classes of the falconry license have a permit issued jointly by the falconer's state of residence and the federal government. The aforementioned apprentice license matriculates to a general class license, which allows the falconer to up to three raptors at one time. (Some jurisdictions may further limit this.) After a minimum of five years at general level, falconers may apply for a master class license, which allows them to keep up to five wild raptors for falconry and an unlimited number of captive-produced raptors. (All must be used for falconry.) Certain highly experienced master falconers may also apply to possess golden eagles for falconry.
Within the United States, a state's regulations are limited by federal law and treaties protecting raptors. Most states afford falconers an extended hunting season relative to seasons for archery and firearms, but species to be hunted, bag limits, and possession limits remain the same for both. No extended seasons for falconry exist for the hunting of migratory birds such as waterfowl and doves.
Federal regulation of falconry in North America is enforced under the statutes of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), originally designed to address the rampant commercial market hunting of migratory waterfowl during the early 20th century. Birds of prey suffered extreme persecution from the early 20th century through the 1960s, where thousands of birds were shot at conspicuous migration sites, and many state wildlife agencies issued bounties for carcasses.[37] Due to widespread persecution and further impacts to raptor populations from DDT and other toxins, the act was amended in 1972 to include birds of prey. (Eagles are also protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1959.) Under the MBTA, taking migratory birds, their eggs, feathers, or nests is illegal. Take is defined in the MBTA to "include by any means or in any manner, any attempt at hunting, pursuing, wounding, killing, possessing, or transporting any migratory bird, nest, egg, or part thereof".[38] Falconers are allowed to trap and otherwise possess certain birds of prey and their feathers with special permits issued by the Migratory Bird Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and by state wildlife agencies (issuers of trapping permits).
The Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) restricts the import and export of most native birds species and are listed in the CITES Appendices I, II, and III.
The Wild Bird Conservation Act, legislation put into effect circa 1993, regulates importation of any CITES-listed birds into the United States.
Some controversy exists over the issue of falconer's ownership of captive-bred birds of prey. Falconry permits are issued by states in a manner that entrusts falconers to "take" (trap) and possess permitted birds and use them only for permitted activities, but does not transfer legal ownership. No legal distinction is made between native wild-trapped vs. captive-bred birds of the same species. This legal position is designed to discourage the commercial exploitation of native wildlife.
History
[edit]
Detail of two falconers from
De arte venandi cum avibus, 1240sIndian king, Maharaja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur with a hawkMughal emperor Akbar with a hawkThe medieval poet Konrad von Altstetten shown with his falcon, in the embrace of his lover. From the Codex Manesse.
Evidence suggests that the art of falconry may have begun in Mesopotamia, with the earliest accounts dating to around 2,000 BC. Also, some raptor representations are in the northern Altai, western Mongolia.[2][39] The falcon was a symbolic bird of ancient Mongol tribes.[40] Some disagreement exists about whether such early accounts document the practice of falconry (from the Epic of Gilgamesh and others) or are misinterpreted depictions of humans with birds of prey.[41][page needed][42][page needed] During the Turkic Period of Central Asia (seventh century AD), concrete figures of falconers on horseback were described on the rocks in Kyrgyz.[39] Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194–1250) is generally acknowledged as the most significant wellspring of traditional falconry knowledge. He is believed to have obtained firsthand knowledge of Arabic falconry during wars in the region (between June 1228 and June 1229). He obtained a copy of Moamyn's manual on falconry and had it translated into Latin by Theodore of Antioch. Frederick II himself made corrections to the translation in 1241, resulting in De Scientia Venandi per Aves.[43] King Frederick II is most recognized for his falconry treatise, De arte venandi cum avibus (On The Art of Hunting with Birds). Written himself toward the end of his life, it is widely accepted as the first comprehensive book of falconry, but also notable in its contributions to ornithology and zoology. De arte venandi cum avibus incorporated a diversity of scholarly traditions from east to west, and is one of the earliest challenges to Aristotle's explanations of nature.[44][page needed]
Three panels depicting hawking in England from various time periods, as reprinted in Joseph Strutt's 1801 book, The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England from the Earliest Period: The middle panel is from a Saxon manuscript dated to the late 10th century – early 11th century, as of 1801 held in the "Cotton Library", showing a Saxon nobleman and his falconer. The top and bottom panels are drawings from a manuscript held, as of 1801, in the Royal Library, dating from the early 14th century, showing parties of both sexes hawking by the waterside; the falconer is frightening the fowl to make them rise and the hawk is in the act of seizing upon one of them.[45]
Mughal emperor Jahangir in the desert hunting deer with a falcon., Brooklyn Museum, c. 1600.
Icelandic gyrfalcon, 1759, Livrustkammaren
Historically, falconry was a popular sport and status symbol among the nobles of medieval Europe, and Asia.[citation needed] Many historical illustrations left in Rashid al Din's "Compendium chronicles" book described falconry of the middle centuries with Mongol images. Falconry was largely restricted to the noble classes due to the prerequisite commitment of time, money, and space. In art and other aspects of culture, such as literature, falconry remained a status symbol long after it was no longer popularly practiced. The historical significance of falconry within lower social classes may be underrepresented in the archaeological record, due to a lack of surviving evidence, especially from nonliterate nomadic and nonagrarian societies. Within nomadic societies such as the Bedouin, falconry was not practiced for recreation by noblemen. Instead, falcons were trapped and hunted on small game during the winter to supplement a very limited diet.[46][page needed]
In the UK and parts of Europe, falconry probably reached its zenith in the 17th century,[1][2] but soon faded, particularly in the late 18th and 19th centuries, as firearms became the tool of choice for hunting. (This likely took place throughout Europe and Asia in differing degrees.) Falconry in the UK had a resurgence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when a number of falconry books were published.[47] This revival led to the introduction of falconry in North America in the early 20th century. Colonel R. Luff Meredith is recognized as the father of North American falconry.[48]
Throughout the 20th century, modern veterinary practices and the advent of radio telemetry (transmitters attached to free-flying birds) increased the average lifespan of falconry birds, and allowed falconers to pursue quarry and styles of flight that had previously resulted in the loss of their hawk or falcon.
Timeline
[edit]
A couple belonging to the Sambal warrior class, documented by the 16th-century Boxer Codex: The female warrior is holding a raptor, which has captured a bird, exemplifying a culture of falconry.
722–705 BC – An Assyrian bas-relief found in the ruins at Khorsabad during the excavation of the palace of Sargon II (Sargon II) has been claimed to depict falconry. In fact, it depicts an archer shooting at raptors and an attendant capturing a raptor. A. H. Layard's statement in his 1853 book Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon is "A falconer bearing a hawk on his wrist appeared to be represented in a bas-relief which I saw on my last visit to those ruins."
680 BC – Chinese records describe falconry.
Fourth century BC – Aristotle wrote that in Thrace, the boys who want to hunt small birds, take hawks with them. When they call the hawks addressing them by name, the hawks swoop down on the birds. The small birds fly in terror into the bushes, where the boys catch them by knocking them down with sticks; in case the hawks themselves catch any of the birds, they throw them down to the hunters. When the hunting finishes, the hunters give a portion of all that is caught to the hawks.[49] He also wrote that in the city of Cedripolis (Κεδρίπολις), men and hawks jointly hunt small birds. The men drive them away with sticks, while the hawks pursue closely, and the small birds in their flight fall into the clutches of the men. Because of this, they share their prey with the hawks.[50]
Third century BC – Antigonus of Carystus wrote the same story about the city of Cedripolis.[51]
355 AD – Nihon-shoki, a largely mythical narrative, records hawking first arriving in Japan from Baekje as of the 16th emperor Nintoku.
Second–fourth century – the Germanic tribe of the Goths learned falconry from the Sarmatians.
Fifth century – the son of Avitus, Roman Emperor 455–56, from the Celtic tribe of the Arverni, who fought at the Battle of Châlons with the Goths against the Huns, introduced falconry in Rome.
500 – a Roman floor mosaic in Argos, Peloponnese depicts a falconer and his hawk hunting ducks.
Early seventh century – Prey caught by trained dogs or falcons is considered halal in Quran.[52] By this time, falconry was already popular in the Arabian Peninsula.
818 – Japanese Emperor Saga ordered someone to edit a falconry text named Shinshuu Youkyou.
875 – Western Europe and Saxon England practiced falconry widely.
991 – In the poem The Battle of Maldon describing the Battle of Maldon in Essex, before the battle, the Anglo-Saxons' leader Byrhtnoth says, "let his tame hawk fly from his hand to the wood".
1070s – The Bayeux Tapestry shows King Harold of England with a hawk in one scene. The king is said to have owned the largest collection of books on the sport in all of Europe.
Around 1182 – Niketas Choniates wrote about hawks that are trained to hunt at the Byzantine Empire.[53]
Around the 1240s – The treatise of an Arab falconer, Moamyn, was translated into Latin by Master Theodore of Antioch, at the court of Frederick II, it was called De Scientia Venandi per Aves and much copied.
1250 – Frederick II wrote in the last years of his life a treatise on the art of hunting with birds: De arte venandi cum avibus.
1285 – The Baz-Nama-yi Nasiri, a Persian treatise on falconry, was compiled by Taymur Mirza, an English translation of which was produced in 1908 by D. C. Phillott.[54]
1325 – The Libro de la caza, by the prince of Villena, Don Juan Manuel, includes a detailed description of the best hunting places for falconry in the kingdom of Castile.
1390s – In his Libro de la caza de las aves, Castilian poet and chronicler Pero López de Ayala attempts to compile all the available correct knowledge concerning falconry.
1486 – See the Boke of Saint Albans
Early 16th century – Japanese warlord Asakura Norikage (1476–1555) succeeded in captive breeding of Eurasian goshawks.
1580s – Spanish drawings of Sambal people recorded in the Boxer Codex showed a culture of falconry in the Philippines.
1600s – In Dutch records of falconry, the town of Valkenswaard was almost entirely dependent on falconry for its economy.
1660s – Tsar Alexis of Russia writes a treatise that celebrates aesthetic pleasures derived from falconry.
1801 – Joseph Strutt of England writes, "the ladies not only accompanied the gentlemen in pursuit of the diversion [falconry], but often practiced it by themselves; and even excelled the men in knowledge and exercise of the art."
1864 – The Old Hawking Club is formed in Great Britain.
1921 – Deutscher Falkenorden is founded in Germany. Today, it is the largest and oldest falconry club in Europe.
1927 – The British Falconers' Club is founded by the surviving members of the Old Hawking Club.
1934 – The first US falconry club, the Peregrine Club of Philadelphia, is formed; it became inactive during World War II and was reconstituted in 2013 by Dwight A. Lasure of Pennsylvania.
1941 – Falconer's Club of America formed
1961 – Falconer's Club of America was defunct
1961 – North American Falconers Association formed
1968 – International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey formed[55]
1970 – Peregrine falcons were listed as an endangered species in the U.S., due primarily to the use of DDT as a pesticide (35 Federal Register 8495; June 2, 1970).
1970 – The Peregrine Fund is founded, mostly by falconers, to conserve raptors, and focusing on peregrine falcons.
1972 – DDT banned in the U.S. (EPA press release – December 31, 1972) but continues to be used in Mexico and other nations.
1999 – Peregrine falcon removed from the Endangered Species List in the United States, due to reports that at least 1,650 peregrine breeding pairs existed in the U.S. and Canada at that time. (64 Federal Register 46541-558, August 25, 1999)
2003 – A population study by the USFWS shows peregrine falcon numbers climbing ever more rapidly, with well over 3000 pairs in North America
Hunting falcon as depicted by Edwin Henry Landseer in 1837.
2006 – A population study by the USFWS shows peregrine falcon numbers still climbing. (Federal Register circa September 2006)
2008 – USFWS rewrites falconry regulations virtually eliminating federal involvement. Federal Register: October 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 196)
2010 – Falconry is added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)[21][56]
Falconry in Britain in early 12th century
[edit]
Medieval Normans distinguished falconry from the sport of 'hawking'.[citation needed] Normans practiced falconry by horseback and 'hawking' by foot.[citation needed] An immediate impact of the Norman Conquest of England was a penchant for falconry enjoyed by Norman nobility.[citation needed] So much so, in fact, that they outlawed commoners from hunting particular lands so that nobility could freely enjoy both sports.[citation needed] Both falconry and 'hawking' were central to Norman cultural identity in medieval times.[citation needed] Normans transported their falcons on a frame called a cadge.[citation needed]
The Book of St Albans
[edit]
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A lady with peregrine falcon on horse
The often-quoted Book of Saint Albans or Boke of St Albans, first printed in 1486, often attributed to Dame Juliana Berners, provides this hierarchy of hawks and the social ranks for which each bird was supposedly appropriate.
Emperor: Eagle, vulture, and merlin
King: gyrfalcon and the tercel of the gyrfalcon
Prince: falcon gentle and the tercel gentle
Duke: falcon of the loch
Earl: Peregrine falcon
Baron: bustard
Knight: sacre and the sacret
Esquire: lanere and the laneret
Lady: marlyon
Young man: hobby
Yeoman: goshawk
Poor man: tercel
Priest: sparrowhawk
Holy water clerk: musket
Knave or servant: kestrel
This list, however, was mistaken in several respects.
1) Vultures are not used for falconry.
3) 4) 5) These are usually said to be different names for the peregrine falcon. But there is an opinion that renders 4) as "rock falcon" = a peregrine from remote rocky areas, which would be bigger and stronger than other peregrines. This could also refer to the Scottish peregrine.
6) The bustard is not a bird of prey, but a game species that was commonly hunted by falconers; this entry may have been a mistake for buzzard, or for busard which is French for "harrier"; but any of these would be a poor deal for barons; some treat this entry as "bastard hawk", possibly meaning a hawk of unknown lineage, or a hawk that could not be identified.
7) Sakers were imported from abroad and very expensive, and ordinary knights and squires would be unlikely to have them.
8) Contemporary records have lanners as native to England.
10) 15) Hobbies and kestrels are historically considered to be of little use for serious falconry (the French name for the hobby is faucon hobereau, hobereau meaning local/country squire. That may be the source of the confusion), however King Edward I of England sent a falconer to catch hobbies for his use. Kestrels are coming into their own as worthy hunting birds, as modern falconers dedicate more time to their specific style of hunting. While not suitable for catching game for the falconer's table, kestrels are certainly capable of catching enough quarry that they can be fed on surplus kills through the moult.
12) An opinion[57] holds that since the previous entry is the goshawk, this entry ("Ther is a Tercell. And that is for the powere [= poor] man.") means a male goshawk and that here "poor man" means not a labourer or beggar, but someone at the bottom of the scale of landowners.
The relevance of the "Boke" to practical falconry past or present is extremely tenuous, and veteran British falconer Phillip Glasier dismissed it as "merely a formalised and rather fanciful listing of birds".
Further information on the 15th century illuminated falconry manuscript: Kerdeston Hawking Book
Falconry in Britain in 1973
[edit]
A book about falconry published in 1973[58] says:
Most falconry birds used in Britain were taken from the wild, either in Britain, or taken abroad and then imported.
Captive breeding was initiated. The book mentions a captive-bred goshawk and a brood of captive-bred red-tailed hawks. It describes as a new and remarkable event captive breeding hybrid young in 1971 and 1972 from John Morris's female saker and Ronald Stevens's peregrine falcon.
Peregrine falcons were suffering from the post–World War II severe decline caused by pesticides. Taking wild peregrines in Britain was only allowed to train them to keep birds off Royal Air Force airfields to prevent bird strikes.
The book does not mention telemetry.
Harris's hawks were known to falconers but unusual. For example, the book lists a falconry meet on four days in August 1971 at White Hill and Leafield in Dumfriesshire in Scotland; the hawks flown were 11 goshawks and one Harris's hawk. The book felt it necessary to say what a Harris's hawk is.
The usual species for a beginner was a kestrel.
A few falconers used golden eagles.
Falcons in falconry would have bells on their legs so the hunters could find them. If the bells fell off the falcon, the hunter would not be able to find his bird easily. The bird usually died if it could not find a way to remove the leather binding on its feet.
Intangible cultural heritage
[edit]
Main article: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
Falconry, a living human heritage
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Country
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates
Reference
01708
Inscription history
Inscription
2021 (16th session)
List
Representative
In 2010, UNESCO inscribed falconry on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity upon the nomination of eleven countries in which it is an important element of their culture: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, South Korea, Mongolia, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Austria and Hungary were added in 2012; Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Portugal were added in 2016; and Croatia, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia were added in 2021. Nominated by a total of twenty-four countries, falconry is the largest multi-national element on the Representative List.[59]
In their rationale for inscription on the list, the nominators highlighted that "Originally a means of obtaining food, falconry has acquired other values over time and has been integrated into communities as a social and recreational practice and as a way of connecting with nature. Today, falconry is practised by people of all ages in many countries. As an important cultural symbol in many of those countries, it is transmitted from generation to generation through a variety of means, including through mentoring, within families or in training clubs".[59]
Literature and film
[edit]
A falconer from Saudi Arabia, 1970s
In historic literature of Mongols, The Secret History of Mongol is one of earliest books that described Bodonchar Munkhag, first leader of the Borjigan tribe as having first caught a falcon and fed it until spring. Through falconry, he not only survived, but also made it his tribal custom. His eighth-generation descendant Esukhei Baatar (hereo) was also in falconry, and he was the father of Genghis Khan. Through Genghis Khan's Great Mongol empire, this custom was introduced to China, Korea, Japan, and Europe, as well as the Western Asia.
In the Tale XXXIII of the Tales of Count Lucanor by the prince of Villena, Lo que sucedió a un halcón sacre del infante don Manuel con una garza y un águila, the tale tries to teach a moral based on a story about falconry lived by the father of the author.
In the ninth novel of the fifth day of Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron, a medieval collection of novellas, a falcon is central to the plot: Nobleman Federigo degli Alberighi has wasted his fortune courting his unrequited love until nothing is left but his brave falcon. When his lady comes to see him, he gives her the falcon to eat. Knowing his case, she changes her mind, marries him, and makes him rich.
Famous explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton wrote an account of falconry in India, Falconry in the Valley of the Indus, first published in 1852 and now available in modern reprints.
A 17th-century English physician-philosopher, Sir Thomas Browne, wrote a short essay on falconry.[60]
T.H. White was a falconer and wrote The Goshawk about his attempt to train a hawk in the traditional art of falconry. Falconry is also featured and discussed in The Once and Future King.
In Virginia Henley's historical romance books, The Falcon and the Flower, The Dragon and the Jewel, The Marriage Prize, The Border Hostage, and Infamous, numerous mentions to the art of falconry are made, as these books are set at dates ranging from the 1150s to the 16th century.
The main character, Sam Gribley, in the children's novel My Side of the Mountain, is a falconer. His trained falcon is named Frightful.
William Bayer's novel Peregrine set in the world of falconry, about a rogue peregrine falcon in New York City, won the 1982 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery.
Actress Stana Katic, known for her role as Kate Beckett in Castle, enjoys falconry in her spare time.[61] She has said that "It gives me self-respect."
In the book and movie The Falcon and the Snowman about two Americans who sold secrets to the Soviets, one of the two main characters, Christopher Boyce, is a falconer.
In The Royal Tenenbaums, Richie keeps a falcon named Mordecai on the roof of his home in Brooklyn.
In James Clavell's Shōgun, Toranaga, one of the main characters, practices falconry throughout the book, often during or immediately before or after important plot events. His thoughts also reveal an analogy between his falconry and his use of other characters towards his ends.
The 1985 film Ladyhawke involved a medieval warrior who carried a red-tailed hawk as a pet, but in truth, the hawk was actually his lover, who had been cursed by an evil bishop to keep the two apart.
In The Dark Tower series, the main character, Roland, uses a hawk named David, to win a trial by combat to become a Gunslinger.
"The Falconer" is a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live, featuring Will Forte as a falconer who constantly finds himself in mortal peril and must rely on his loyal falcon, Donald, to rescue him.
Gabriel García Márquez's novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold's main character, Santiago Nasar, and his father are falconers.
Hodgesaargh is a falconer based in Lancre Castle in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. He is an expert and dedicated falconer who unluckily seems to only keep birds that enjoy attacking him.
Fantasy author Mercedes Lackey is a falconer and often adds birds of prey to her novels. Among the Tayledras or Hawkbrother race in her Chronicles of Valdemar, everyone bonds with a specially bred raptor called a bondbird, which has limited powers of speech mind-to-mind and can scout and hunt for its human bondmate.
Crime novelist Andy Straka is a falconer and his Frank Pavlicek private eye series features a former NYPD homicide detective and falconer as protagonist. The books include A Witness Above, A Killing Sky, Cold Quarry (2001, 2002, 2003), and Kitty Hitter (2009).
In Irish poet William Butler Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming", Yeats uses the image of "The falcon cannot hear the falconer" as a metaphor for social disintegration.
American poet Robert Duncan's poem "My Mother Would Be a Falconress"[62]
The comic book Gold Ring by Qais M. Sedki and Akira Himekawa features falconers and falcons.
The Marvel Comics character Falcon is both named after the animal, but is a falconer himself, fighting crime with his falcon Redwing.
C. J. Box's Joe Pickett series of novels has a recurring character, Nate Romanowski, who is a falconer.
A Kestrel for a Knave is a novel by British author Barry Hines, published in 1968. It is set in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and tells of Billy Casper, a young working-class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he finds and trains a kestrel, which he names "Kes". The film made from the book in 1969 by Ken Loach is also called Kes. Barry Hines was inspired by his younger brother Richard, who like Billy Casper, took kestrels from the wild and trained them. (He trained the three hawks used in the film Kes.) He has written of this in his memoir No Way But Gentleness: A Memoir of How Kes, My Kestrel, Changed My Life (Bloomsbury, 2016).
In the book Flight of the Dragon Kyn by Susan Fletcher, the protagonist helps train an arctic gyrfalcon as she befriends the king's falconer.
H is for Hawk (Vintage, 2015) by Helen Macdonald, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize and Costa Book of the Year prizes in 2014, tells of how she trained a goshawk and mourned her father in the same year. It has echoes of T.H. White's The Goshawk.
Dragonheart features Brok, the brutal knight for the iron fisted King Einon, who proved a capable falconer and owns a falcon.
On The Mummy Returns, Ardeth Bay proved a capable falconer and owned a saker falcon named after the Egyptian god Horus. Sadly, while delivering a message, Horus was shot to death by Lock-Nah with a rifle.
Avatar: The Last Airbender featured falconry, involving many using messenger hawks to deliver messages. The assassin Combustion Man utilized a raven eagle to intercept a messenger hawk carrying information about Aang's whereabouts, keeping Aang's survival after the coup in Ba Sing Se a secret.
English language words and idioms derived from falconry
[edit]
These English language words and idioms are derived from falconry:
Expression
Meaning in falconry
Derived meaning
Haggard[63]
Of a hawk, caught from the wild when adult
Looking exhausted and unwell, in poor condition; wild or untamed
Lure[64]
Originally a device used to recall hawks. The hawks, when young, were trained to associate the device (usually a bunch of feathers) with food.
To tempt with a promise/reward/bait
Rouse[65]
To shake one's feathers
Stir or awaken
Pounce[66]
Referring to a hawk's claws, later derived to refer to birds springing or swooping to catch prey
Jump forward to seize or attack something
To turn tail[67]
Fly away
To turn and run away
See also
[edit]
Birds portal
Sports portal
Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital
Animal training
Anti-hunting
Car hawking
Falconer's knot
Falconry training and technique
Hack (falconry)
Hunting
Hunting dog
Hunting with eagles
Jess (falconry)
Parahawking
Puppet-rearing
Takagari
Ferreting
Notes
[edit]
^ About 5,000 falconers were in the United States in 2008.[25]
References
[edit]
^ abBert, E. (1619), An Approved Treatise on Hawks and Hawking.
^ abcLatham, S. (1633), The Falcon's Lure and Cure.
^Syz, Francesca (20 June 2021). "Why peregrine falcons are the ultimate status symbol in the Middle East". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
^"Saker Falcon entry at Abu Dhabi Environment division". Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
^"The Modern Apprentice – The Red-Tail Hawk". Themodernapprentice.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"Beginners Circle". Americanfalconry.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"Harris' Hawk". DK: Cyber city. Archived from the original on 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
^"Falconry". NZ Falconers Association. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"Should Apprentice Falconers be Allowed to Fly American Kestrels?". American falconry. 1992-04-14. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
^Melling, T.; Dudley, S. & Doherty, P. (2008). "The Eagle Owl in Britain" (PDF). British Birds. 101 (9): 478–490. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
^Hollinshead, Martin (2006), The last Wolf Hawker: The Eagle Falconry of Friedrich Remmler, The Fernhill Press, archived from the original on 2011-09-28, retrieved 2007-06-21.
^"International Journal of Intangible Heritage". International Journal of Intangible Heritage. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-01.cite web: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2015-10-17.cite web: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ ab"Eagle Hunters". Discover-bayanolgii.com. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"International Journal of Intangible Heritage". International Journal of Intangible Heritage. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^Stewart, Rowan (2002), Kyrgyzstan, Odyssey, p. 182.
^"The eagles trained to catch drones". BBC Newsround. 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
^Mogg, Trevor (2017-12-11). "Drone-catching eagles aren't such a good idea after all". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
^UAEINTERACT. "UAE Interact, United Arab Emirates information, news, photographs, maps and webcams". Uaeinteract.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^ ab"A Falconer with His Falcon near Al-Ain". World Digital Library. 1965. Archived from the original on 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
^"Kyrgyz berkut, kyrgyz hunting eagle". Pipex. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
^"Wingspan National Bird of Prey Center". NZ. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
^"Raptor Association". NZ. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
^"Tim Gallagher's got "Falcon Fever"" (Blog spot). Wild Bird on the Fly (World Wide Web log). Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
^"Falconry for Commercial Buildings". Aviaway Bird Control. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
^Ranahan, Jared (28 January 2022). "Preying for a paycheck: The birds that work for hotels". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022.
^"How to Become a Falconer in the UK". Falconry Course. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
^"North American Falconers Association". N-a-f-a.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey – Home". Iaf.org. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Peregrine Falcons". Endangered Species Program. US Fish & Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
^Cade, TJ; Burnham, W (2003), The Return of the Peregrine: a North American sage of tenacity and teamwork, The Peregrine Fund.
^Oliphant, LW (1991), "Hybridization Between a Peregrine Falcon and a Prairie Falcon in the Wild.", The Journal of Raptor Research, 25 (2): 36–39.
^"Welcome to Canada's oldest and most successful gyrfalcon breeding establishment". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
^Eaton, Mark A. (2023). "Non-native breeding birds in the UK, 2015–2020". British Birds. 116 (9): 486–507 (Harris's Hawk, p.504).
^"73 FR 59448" (PDF). Gpo.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-31. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^Matthiessen, P (1959), Wildlife in America, Viking.
^"Migratory Bird Treaty Act". Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
^ ab"The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences (ACSS)" (PDF). ACSS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). www.mefrg.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.cite web: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Epic of Gilgamesh.
^Layard, A. H. (1853), Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, London: John Murray.
^Egerton, F (2003), "A History of the Ecological Sciences : Part 8: Fredrick II of Hohenstaufen: Amateur Avian Ecologist and Behaviorist" (PDF), Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 84 (1), Esa pubs: 40–44, doi:10.1890/0012-9623(2003)84[40:ahotes]2.0.co;2, archived (PDF) from the original on 2007-11-27, retrieved 2007-11-03.
^Ferber, S (1979), Islam and The Medieval West.
^Strutt, Joseph (1801). Cox, J. Charles (ed.). The sports and pastimes of the people of England from the earliest period. Methuen & co. p. 24. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
^Mitchell, EB (1971) [1900], The art & practice of hawking (7th ed.), Newton, MA: Charles T. Branford, p. 291
^A brief history of North American Falconry, NAFA, archived from the original on 2015-04-08.
^"Aristotelian Corpus, On Marvelous Things Heard, 27.118". 250. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
^"Aristotle, History of Animals, 9.36.2". 350. Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
^"Antigonus, Compilation of Marvellous Accounts, 28". Archived from the original on 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
^Quran 5:4.
^"Niketas Choniates, Annals, 251". Archived from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
^The Baz-Nama-Yi Nasiri. A Persian Treatise on Falconry. Translated by Phillott, DC. London: Bernard Quaritch. 1908.
^"International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey – Role of IAF". Iaf.org. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"- intangible heritage – Culture Sector – UNESCO". Unesco.org. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"The Welsh Hawking Club", Austringer (36): 11, archived from the original on 2010-10-13, retrieved 2008-05-09.
^Evans, Humphrey (1973), Falconry, an illustrated introduction, John Bartholomew & Son, ISBN 0-85152-921-6.
^ ab"Falconry, a living human heritage". UNESCO. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
^"Sir Thomas Browne's Miscellany Tracts: Of Hawks and Falconry". Penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^Katic, Stana (2009-10-08). Kimmel, James 'Jimmy' (ed.). "On Falconry". You tube (video). Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
^aapone (6 May 2005). "My Mother Would Be a Falconress". My Mother Would Be a Falconress. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^"haggard". Online Etymology Dictionary.
^"lure". Online Etymology Dictionary.
^"rouse". Online Etymology Dictionary.
^"pounce". Online Etymology Dictionary.
^"tail". Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading
[edit]
Ash, Lydia, Modern Apprentice: site for North Americans interested in falconry. Much information for this entry was due to her research.
Beebe, FL; Webster, HM (2000), North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks (8th ed.), North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks, ISBN 0-685-66290-X.
Chenu, Jean Charles; Des Murs, Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet (1862). La fauconnerie, ancienne et moderne. Paris: Librairie L. Hachette et Cie.
Chiorino, G. E. (1906). Il Manuale del moderno Falconiere. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli.
Fernandes Ferreira (b. 1546), Diogo; Cordeiro (1844–1900), Luciano (1899). Arte da caça de altaneria. Lisbon: Lisboa Escriptorio.cite book: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Freeman, Gage Earle; Salvin, Francis Henry (1859). Falconry : Its Claims, History and Practice. London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts.
Freeman, Gage Earle (1869). Practical falconry – to which is added, How I became a falconer. London: Horace Cox.
Fuertes, Louis Agassiz; Wetmore, Alexander (1920). "Falconry, the sport of kings". National Geographic Magazine. 38 (6).
García, Beatriz E. Candil; Hartman, Arjen E (2007), Ars Accipitraria: An Essential Dictionary for the Practice of Falconry and hawking, London: Yarak, ISBN 978-0-9555607-0-5 (the excerpt on the language of falconry comes from this book).
——— (2008), The Red-tailed Hawk: The Great Unknown, London: Yarak, ISBN 978-0-9555607-4-3.
Harting, James Edmund (1891). Bibliotheca Accipitraria: A Catalogue of Books Ancient and Modern Relating to Falconry, with notes, glossary and vocabulary. London: Bernard Quaritch.
López de Ayala (1332–1407), Pedro; de la Cueva, duque de Albuquerque (d. 1492), Beltrán; de Gayangos (1809–1897), Pascual; Lafuente y Alcántara, Emilio (1869). El libro de las aves de caça. Madrid: M. Galiano.cite book: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Latini (1220–1295), Brunetto; Bono (c. 1240 – c. 1292), Giamboni (1851). de Mortara, Alessandro (ed.). Scritture antiche toscane di falconeria ed alcuni capitoli nell' originale francese del Tesoro di Brunetto Latini sopra la stessa materia. Prato: Tipografia F. Alberghetti e C.cite book: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Phillott, Douglas Craven; al-Dawlah Timur Mirza, Husam (1908). The Baz-nama-yi Nasiri, a Persian treatise on falconry. London: Bernard Quaritch.
Riesenthal, Oskar von (1876). Die Raubvögel Deutschlands und des angrenzenden Mitteleuropas; Darstellung und Beschreibung der in Deutschland und den benachbarten Ländern von Mitteleuropa vorkommenden Raubvögel. Cassel, Germany: Verlag von Theodor Fischer.
Deva, Raja of Kumaon, Rudra; Shastri (tr.), Hara Prasad (1910). Syanika satra: or a book on hawking. Calcutta: Asiatic Society.
Soma, Takuya. 2012. ‘Contemporary Falconry in Altai-Kazakh in Western Mongolia’The International Journal of Intangible Heritage (vol.7), pp. 103–111. [1] Archived 2017-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
Soma, Takuya. 2013. 'Ethnographic Study of Altaic Kazakh Falconers', Falco: The Newsletter of the Middle East Falcon Research Group 41, pp. 10–14. [2]
External links
[edit]
Look up falconry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Falconry.
IAF – International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey.
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About Sunrise
Time of day when the sun appears above the horizon
For other uses, see Sunrise (disambiguation).Not to be confused with Dawn.
Sunrise seen over the Atlantic Ocean through cirrus clouds on the Jersey Shore at Spring Lake, New Jersey, U.S.
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning,[1] at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon.
Terminology
[edit]
Although the Sun appears to "rise" from the horizon, it is actually the Earth's motion that causes the Sun to appear. The illusion of a moving Sun results from Earth observers being in a rotating reference frame; this apparent motion caused many cultures to have mythologies and religions built around the geocentric model, which prevailed until astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus formulated his heliocentric model in the 16th century.[2]
Architect Buckminster Fuller proposed the terms "sunsight" and "sunclipse" to better represent the heliocentric model, though the terms have not entered into common language.[3][4]
Astronomically, sunrise occurs for only an instant, namely the moment at which the upper limb of the Sun appears tangent to the horizon.[1] However, the term sunrise commonly refers to periods of time both before and after this point:
Towers of the Church of the Assumption in Bielany-Kraków over the Wolski Forest just after sunrise.
Twilight, the period in the morning during which the sky is brightening, but the Sun is not yet visible. The beginning of morning twilight is called astronomical dawn.
The period after the Sun rises during which striking colors and atmospheric effects are still seen.[5] Civil twilight being the brightest, while astronomical twilight being the darkest.
Measurement
[edit]
Angle with respect to horizon
[edit]
This diagram of the Sun at sunrise (or sunset) shows the effects of atmospheric refraction.
The stage of sunrise known as false sunrise actually occurs before the Sun truly reaches the horizon because Earth's atmosphere refracts the Sun's image. At the horizon, the average amount of refraction is 34 arcminutes, though this amount varies based on atmospheric conditions.[1]
Also, unlike most other solar measurements, sunrise occurs when the Sun's upper limb, rather than its center, appears to cross the horizon. The apparent radius of the Sun at the horizon is 16 arcminutes.[1]
These two angles combine to define sunrise to occur when the Sun's center is 50 arcminutes below the horizon, or 90.83° from the zenith.[1]
Time of day
[edit]
See also: Daytime length variations with latitude and seasons
Time of sunrise in 2008 for Libreville, Gabon. Near the equator, the variation of the time of sunrise is mainly governed by the variation of the equation of time. See here for the sunrise chart of a different location.
The timing of sunrise varies throughout the year and is also affected by the viewer's latitude and longitude, altitude, and time zone. These changes are driven by the axial tilt of Earth, daily rotation of the Earth, the planet's movement in its annual elliptical orbit around the Sun, and the Earth and Moon's paired revolutions around each other. The analemma can be used to make approximate predictions of the time of sunrise.
In late winter and spring, sunrise as seen from temperate latitudes occurs earlier each day, reaching its earliest time shortly before the summer solstice; although the exact date varies by latitude. After this point, the time of sunrise gets later each day, reaching its latest shortly after the winter solstice, also varying by latitude. The offset between the dates of the solstice and the earliest or latest sunrise time is caused by the eccentricity of Earth's orbit and the tilt of its axis, and is described by the analemma, which can be used to predict the dates.
Variations in atmospheric refraction can alter the time of sunrise by changing its apparent position. Near the poles, the time-of-day variation is extreme, since the Sun crosses the horizon at a very shallow angle and thus rises more slowly.[1]
Accounting for atmospheric refraction and measuring from the leading edge slightly increases the average duration of day relative to night. The sunrise equation, however, which is used to derive the time of sunrise and sunset, uses the Sun's physical center for calculation, neglecting atmospheric refraction and the non-zero angle subtended by the solar disc.
Location on the horizon
[edit]
See also: Sun path and Solar azimuth angle
Timelapse video of twilight and sunrise in Gjøvik, Norway in February 2021
Neglecting the effects of refraction and the Sun's non-zero size, whenever sunrise occurs, in temperate regions it is always in the northeast quadrant from the March equinox to the September equinox and in the southeast quadrant from the September equinox to the March equinox.[6] Sunrises occur approximately due east on the March and September equinoxes for all viewers on Earth.[7] Exact calculations of the azimuths of sunrise on other dates are complex, but they can be estimated with reasonable accuracy by using the analemma.
The figure on the right is calculated using the solar geometry routine in Ref.[8] as follows:
For a given latitude and a given date, calculate the declination of the Sun using longitude and solar noon time as inputs to the routine;
Calculate the sunrise hour angle using the sunrise equation;
Calculate the sunrise time, which is the solar noon time minus the sunrise hour angle in degree divided by 15;
Use the sunrise time as input to the solar geometry routine to get the solar azimuth angle at sunrise.
Hemispheric symmetry
[edit]
An interesting feature in the figure on the right is apparent hemispheric symmetry in regions where daily sunrise and sunset actually occur.
This symmetry becomes clear if the hemispheric relation in to the sunrise equation is applied to the x- and y-components of the solar vector presented in Ref.[8]
Appearance
[edit]
The first sunrise in 2025 of Jabalpur, caught from a rooftop.
Colors
[edit]
See also: Sunset § Colors
Further information: Atmospheric optics
Sunrise in Lisbon seen from an airplane. Note refraction of colors by both the atmosphere and clouds.
Air molecules and airborne particles scatter white sunlight as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere. This is done by a combination of Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering.[9]
As a ray of white sunlight travels through the atmosphere to an observer, some of the colors are scattered out of the beam by air molecules and airborne particles, changing the final color of the beam the viewer sees. Because the shorter wavelength components, such as blue and green, scatter more strongly, these colors are preferentially removed from the beam.[9]
At sunrise and sunset, when the path through the atmosphere is longer, the blue and green components are removed almost completely, leaving the longer-wavelength orange and red hues seen at those times. The remaining reddened sunlight can then be scattered by cloud droplets and other relatively large particles to light up the horizon red and orange.[10] The removal of the shorter wavelengths of light is due to Rayleigh scattering by air molecules and particles much smaller than the wavelength of visible light (less than 50 nm in diameter).[11][12] The scattering by cloud droplets and other particles with diameters comparable to or larger than the sunlight's wavelengths (more than 600 nm) is due to Mie scattering and is not strongly wavelength-dependent. Mie scattering is responsible for the light scattered by clouds, and also for the daytime halo of white light around the Sun (forward scattering of white light).[13][14][15]
Sunset colors are typically more brilliant than sunrise colors, because the evening air contains more particles than morning air.[9][10][12][15] Ash from volcanic eruptions, trapped within the troposphere, tends to mute sunset and sunrise colors, while volcanic ejecta that is instead lofted into the stratosphere (as thin clouds of tiny sulfuric acid droplets), can yield beautiful post-sunset colors called afterglows and pre-sunrise glows. A number of eruptions, including those of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and Krakatoa in 1883, have produced sufficiently high stratospheric sulfuric acid clouds to yield remarkable sunset afterglows (and pre-sunrise glows) around the world. The high altitude clouds serve to reflect strongly reddened sunlight still striking the stratosphere after sunset, down to the surface.
Optical illusions and other phenomena
[edit]
This is a false sunrise, a very particular kind of parhelion.
Atmospheric refraction causes the Sun to be seen while it is still below the horizon.
Light from the lower edge of the Sun's disk is refracted more than light from the upper edge. This reduces the apparent height of the Sun when it appears just above the horizon. The width is not affected, so the Sun appears wider than it is high.
The Sun appears larger at sunrise than it does while higher in the sky, in a manner similar to the Moon illusion.
The Sun appears to rise above the horizon and circle the Earth, but it is actually the Earth that is rotating, with the Sun remaining fixed. This effect results from the fact that an observer on Earth is in a rotating reference frame.
Occasionally a false sunrise occurs, demonstrating a very particular kind of parhelion belonging to the optical phenomenon family of halos.
Sometimes just before sunrise or after sunset, a green flash can be seen. This is an optical phenomenon in which a green spot is visible above the Sun, usually for no more than a second or two.[16]
See also
[edit]
Astronomy portal
Analemma
Dawn
Day
Daytime
Dusk
Earth's shadow, visible at sunrise
First sunrise
Golden hour (photography)
Heliacal rising
Noon
Red sky at morning
Sunrise equation
Sunset
References
[edit]
^ abcdef
"Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions". U.S. Naval Observatory. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019.
^"The Earth Is the Center of the Universe: Top 10 Science Mistakes". Science Channel. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012.
^Griffith, Evan. "Celebrating word making: Buckminster Fuller's take on sunrise and sunset". Notes For Creators. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
^Skene, Gordon (22 November 2020). "Buckminster Fuller Has A Few Words For You - 1972 - Ford Hall Forum Lecture". Past Daily. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
^"Sunrise". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 7 February 2024.
^Masters, Karen (October 2004). "How does the position of Moonrise and Moonset change? (Intermediate)". Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer. Cornell University Astronomy Department. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
^"Where Do the Sun and Stars Rise?". Stanford Solar Center. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
^ abZhang, T., Stackhouse, P.W., Macpherson, B., and Mikovitz, J.C., 2021. A solar azimuth formula that renders circumstantial treatment unnecessary without compromising mathematical rigor: Mathematical setup, application and extension of a formula based on the subsolar point and atan2 function. Renewable Energy, 172, 1333-1340. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.03.047
^ abcK. Saha (2008). The Earth's Atmosphere – Its Physics and Dynamics. Springer. p. 107. ISBN 978-3-540-78426-5.
^ abB. Guenther, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of Modern Optics. Vol. 1. Elsevier. p. 186.
^"Blue Sky". Hyperphysics, Georgia State University. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
^ abCraig Bohren (ed.), Selected Papers on Scattering in the Atmosphere, SPIE Optical Engineering Press, Bellingham, WA, 1989
^Corfidi, Stephen F. (February 2009). "The Colors of Twilight and Sunset". Norman, OK: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center.
^"Atmospheric Aerosols: What Are They, and Why Are They So Important?". NASA. Aug 1, 1996. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012.
^ abE. Hecht (2002). Optics (4th ed.). Addison Wesley. p. 88. ISBN 0-321-18878-0.
^"Red Sunset, Green Flash". HyperPhysics Concepts - Georgia State University. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022.
External links
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Sunrise.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sunrises.
Full physical explanation of sky color, in simple terms
An Excel workbook with VBA functions for sunrise, sunset, solar noon, twilight (dawn and dusk), and solar position (azimuth and elevation)
Sun data for various cities
Sunrise and sunset times in all popular cities
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About Cappadocia
Historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey
For other uses, see Cappadocia (disambiguation) and Cappadocian (disambiguation).
Place in Katpatuka
Cappadocia
Ancient region of Central Anatolia Region, Turkey
Clockwise from top: Ortahisar Castle, View of Uçhisar Castle, Mount Erciyes, Rose Valley, Ihlara Valley, Göreme Open Air Museum, Aerial view over Cappadocia
Cappadocia among the classical regions of Anatolia (Asia Minor)
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Cappadocia
Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
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Includes
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Criteria
Cultural: i, iii, v; Natural: vii
Reference
357
Inscription
1985 (9th Session)
Area
9,883.81 ha
Cappadocia (/kæpəˈdoʊʃəˌ-ˈdoʊkiə/; Turkish: Kapadokya, from Greek: Καππαδοκία) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir province.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revolt (499 BC), the Cappadocians were reported as occupying a region from the Taurus Mountains to the vicinity of the Euxine (Black Sea).[1] Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in the south by the chain of mountains that separate it from Cilicia, to the east by the upper Euphrates, to the north by the Pontus, and to the west by Lycaonia and eastern Galatia.[2]
The name, traditionally used in Christian sources throughout history, continues in use as an international tourism concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys,[3] in addition to its religious heritage of being a centre of early Christian learning, evidenced by hundreds of churches and monasteries (such as those of Göreme and Ihlara), as well as underground cities that were dug to offer protection during periods of persecution.[4][5]
Etymology
[edit]
The facade of an ancient church called Açık Saray, literally meaning "Open Palace", carved into the valley walls in Gülşehir, Cappadocia.
The earliest record of the name of Cappadocia (/kæpəˈdoʊʃəˌ-ˈdoʊkiə/; Turkish: Kapadokya; Ancient Greek: Καππαδοκία, romanized: Kappadokía, Classical Syriac: ܩܦܘܕܩܝܐ, romanized: Kəp̄uḏoqyā, from Old Persian: 𐎣𐎫𐎱𐎬𐎢𐎣Katpatuka; Hittite: 𒅗𒋫𒁉𒁕, romanized: Katapeda; Armenian: Կապադովկիա,, romanized: Kapadovkia) dates from the late sixth century BC, when it appears in the trilingual inscriptions of two early Achaemenid emperors, Darius the Great and Xerxes I, as one of the countries (Old Persian dahyu-). In these lists of countries, the Old Persian name is Katpatuka. It was proposed that Kat-patuka came from the Luwian language, meaning "Low Country".[6]
Subsequent research suggests that the adverb katta meaning 'down, below' is exclusively Hittite, while its Luwian equivalent is zanta.[7] Therefore, the recent modification of this proposal operates with the Hittite katta peda-, literally "place below" as a starting point for the development of the toponym Cappadocia.[8]
The earlier derivation from Iranian Hu-apa-dahyu 'Land of good horses' can hardly be reconciled with the phonetic shape of Kat-patuka. Several other etymologies have also been offered in the past.[9]
Herodotus wrote that the name of the Cappadocians was applied to them by the Persians, while they were termed by the Greeks "White Syrians" (Leucosyri),[10] who were most probably descendants of the Hittites.[11] One of the Cappadocian tribes he mentions is the Moschoi, associated by Flavius Josephus with the biblical figure Meshech, son of Japheth: "and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians". AotJ I:6.[citation needed]
A fresco of Christ Pantocrator on the ceiling of Karanlık Kilise Churches of Göreme.
Cappadocia appears in the biblical account given in the book of Acts 2:9. The Cappadocians were named as one group (among "Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia")[12] hearing the Gospel account from Galileans in their own language on the day of Pentecost shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 2:5 states "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven," seeming to suggest that some of the Cappadocians were Jews, or part of the diaspora of Jews present in Jerusalem at the time.[12]
The region is mentioned in the Jewish Mishnah, in Ketubot 13:11, and in several places in the Talmud, including Yevamot 121a, Hullin 47b.[13]
Under the later kings of the Persian Empire, the Cappadocians were divided into two satrapies, or governments, with one comprising the central and inland portion, to which the name of Cappadocia continued to be applied by Greek geographers, while the other was called Pontus. This division had already come about before the time of Xenophon. As after the fall of the Persian government the two provinces continued to be separate, the distinction was perpetuated, and the name Cappadocia came to be restricted to the inland province (sometimes called Great Cappadocia), which alone will be the focus of this article.[14]
The kingdom of Cappadocia still existed in the time of Strabo (c. 64 BC – c. AD 24) as a nominally independent state. Cilicia was the name given to the district in which Caesarea, the capital of the whole country, was situated. The only two cities of Cappadocia considered by Strabo to deserve that appellation were Caesarea (originally known as Mazaca) and Tyana, not far from the foot of the Taurus.[15]
Geography and climate
[edit]
Fairy chimneys in Uçhisar, Cappadocia.
Cappadocia lies in central Anatolia, in the heartland of what is now Turkey. The relief consists of a high plateau over 1,000 m in altitude that is pierced by volcanic peaks, with Mount Erciyes (ancient Argaeus) near Kayseri (ancient Caesarea) being the tallest at 3,916 m. The boundaries of historical Cappadocia are vague, particularly towards the west.[16]
To the south, the Taurus Mountains form the boundary with Cilicia and separate Cappadocia from the Mediterranean Sea. To the west, Cappadocia is bounded by the historical regions of Lycaonia to the southwest, and Galatia to the northwest. Due to its inland location and high altitude, Cappadocia has a markedly continental climate, with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters.[17] Rainfall is sparse and the region is largely semi-arid.[citation needed]
Cappadocia contained the source of the Sarus and Pyramus rivers, and the middle course of the Halys river, and the tributary of the Euphrates, later called Tokhma Su. As no one of these rivers was navigable or served to fertilize the lands along its course, none has much importance in the history of the province.[15]
Geology
[edit]
Ignimbrites of Miocene age are present within the area. The distinctive landscape of Cappadocia was formed through the erosion of thick volcanic deposits created by ancient eruptions of Mount Erciyes, Mount Hasan, and Göllüdağ. Over millions of years, wind and water erosion shaped these soft volcanic rocks into the region’s characteristic fairy chimneys and rock formations.
Prominent rock formations such as Ortahisar and Uçhisar are composed of harder volcanic rock layers, which were more resistant to erosion than the surrounding softer deposits. As a result, these formations remained elevated over time and were later adapted for the construction of rock-cut castles and settlements.
IUGS geological heritage site
[edit]
In respect of the 'voluminous eruption deposits in a fluvio-lacustrine sequence with 'fairy-chimney' development produced by uplift and erosion', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'The Miocene Cappadocian ignimbrites sequence' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'[18]
History
[edit]
Ancient history
[edit]
See also: Cappadocia (satrapy) and List of rulers of Cappadocia
Achaemenid Cappadocia
A Cappadocian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 470 BC. Xerxes I tomb relief.
The location of Achaemenid Cappadocia.[19]
Cappadocia was known as Hatti in the late Bronze Age, and was the homeland of the Hittite power centred at Hattusa. After the fall of the Hittite Empire, with the decline of the Syro-Cappadocians (Mushki) after their defeat by the Lydian king Croesus in the 6th century BC, Cappadocia was ruled by a sort of feudal aristocracy, dwelling in strong castles and keeping the peasants in a servile condition, which later made them apt to foreign slavery. It was included in the third Persian satrapy in the division established by Darius but continued to be governed by rulers of its own, none apparently supreme over the whole country and all more or less tributaries of the Great King.[15][20]
Kingdom of Cappadocia
[edit]
Main article: Kingdom of Cappadocia
After ending the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great tried to rule the area through one of his military commanders. But Ariarathes, previously satrap of the region, declared himself king of the Cappadocians. As Ariarathes I (332–322 BC), he was a successful ruler, and he extended the borders of the Cappadocian Kingdom as far as to the Black Sea. The kingdom of Cappadocia lived in peace until the death of Alexander.[15]
The previous empire was then divided into many parts, and Cappadocia fell to Eumenes. His claims were made good in 322 BC by the regent Perdiccas, who crucified Ariarathes; but in the dissensions which brought about Eumenes's death, Ariarathes II, the adopted son of Ariarathes I, recovered his inheritance and left it to a line of successors, who mostly bore the name of the founder of the dynasty.[15]
Persian colonists in the Cappadocian kingdom, cut off from their co-religionists in Iran proper, continued to practice Zoroastrianism. Strabo, observing them in the first century BC, records (XV.3.15) that these "fire kindlers" possessed many "holy places of the Persian Gods", as well as fire temples.[21]
Strabo relates, were "noteworthy enclosures; and in their midst there is an altar, on which there is a large quantity of ashes and where the magi keep the fire ever burning."[21] According to Strabo, who wrote during the time of Augustus (r. 27 BC – AD 14), almost three hundred years after the fall of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, there remained only traces of Persians in western Asia Minor; however, he considered Cappadocia "almost a living part of Persia".[22]
Under Ariarathes IV, Cappadocia came into relations with Rome, first as a foe espousing the cause of Antiochus the Great, then as an ally against Perseus of Macedon. The kings henceforward threw in their lot with the Republic as against the Seleucids, to whom they had been from time to time tributary. Ariarathes V marched with the Roman proconsul Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus against Aristonicus, a claimant to the throne of Pergamon, and their forces were annihilated (130 BC). The imbroglio which followed his death ultimately led to interference by the rising power of Pontus and the intrigues and wars which ended in the failure of the dynasty.[15][23]
Roman and early Christian period
[edit]
Main article: Cappadocia (Roman province)
The ancient city of Tyana, CappadociaKing Orophernes of Cappadocia.
The Cappadocians, supported by Rome against Mithridates VI of Pontus, elected a native lord, Ariobarzanes, to succeed (93 BC). In the same year, Armenian troops under Tigranes the Great entered Cappadocia, dethroned king Ariobarzanes and crowned Gordios as the new client-king of Cappadocia, creating a buffer zone against the encroaching Romans. When Rome deposed the Pontic and Armenian kings, the rule of Ariobarzanes was established (63 BC).[24]
In Caesar's civil war, Cappadocia was first for Pompey, then for Caesar, then for Antony, and finally, Octavian. The Ariobarzanes dynasty came to an end, a Cappadocian nobleman Archelaus was given the throne, by favour first of Antony and then of Octavian, and maintained tributary independence until AD 17, when the emperor Tiberius, whom he had angered, summoned him to Rome and reduced Cappadocia to a Roman province.[24]
In 70 AD, Vespasian joined Armenia Minor to Cappadocia, and made the combined province a frontier bulwark. It remained, under various provincial redistributions, part of the Eastern Empire for centuries.[25] In 314, Cappadocia was the largest province of the Roman Empire, and was part of the Diocese of Pontus.[26] In 371, the western part of the Cappadocia province was divided into Cappadocia Prima, with its capital at Caesarea (modern-day Kayseri); and Cappadocia Secunda, with its capital at Tyana.[26]
By 386, the region to the east of Caesarea had become part of Armenia Secunda, while the northeast had become part of Armenia Prima.[26] Cappadocia largely consisted of major estates, owned by the Roman emperors or wealthy local families.[26] The Cappadocian provinces became more important in the latter part of the 4th century, as the Romans were involved with the Sasanian Empire over control of Mesopotamia and "Armenia beyond the Euphrates".[26]
Cappadocia, now well into the Roman era, still retained a significant Iranian character; Stephen Mitchell notes that "many inhabitants of Cappadocia were of Persian descent and Iranian fire worship is attested as late as 465"[26] and the area also contained a sizeable Armenian population since antiquity.[27] For most of the Byzantine era it remained relatively undisturbed by the conflicts in the area with the Sasanian Empire, but the Persian Wars of the 610s and 620s placed Cappadocia on the frontline for the first time since the first century.[28]
The exact date of arrival of Christianity in uncertain, but latest from the third century it was firmly established in society and the Church was fully developed.[29] The Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th century were integral to much of early Christian philosophy. It produced, among other people, John of Cappadocia, Patriarch of Constantinople from 517 to 520, and Macrina, an early champion of women's monasticism.[30] The region suffered famine in 368 described as "the most severe ever remembered" by Gregory of Nazianzus:
An early Christian hermitage in Cappadocia
The city was in distress and there was no source of assistance [...] The hardest part of all such distress is the insensibility and insatiability of those who possess supplies [...] Such are the buyers and sellers of corn [...] by his word and advice [Basil's] open the stores of those who possessed them, and so, according to the Scripture, dealt food to the hungry and satisfied the poor with bread [...] He gathered together the victims of the famine [...] and obtaining contributions of all sorts of food which can relieve famine, set before them basins of soup and such meat as was found preserved among us, on which the poor live [...] Such was our young furnisher of corn, and second Joseph [...] [But unlike Joseph, Basil's] services were gratuitous and his succour of the famine gained no profit, having only one object, to win kindly feelings by kindly treatment, and to gain by his rations of corn the heavenly blessings.[31]
This is similar to another account by Gregory of Nyssa that Basil "ungrudgingly spent upon the poor his patrimony even before he was a priest, and most of all in the time of the famine, during which [Basil] was a ruler of the Church, though still a priest in the rank of presbyters; and afterwards did not hoard even what remained to him".[31] Basil also famously constructed near Caeserea the Basileias, a vast complex with hospices for sick, churches, quarters for travellers and facilities for doctors and nurses.[32]
Byzantine periods
[edit]
A ceiling fresco in Daniel Pantonassa Church, Ihlara Valley.
The Arrival of Muslim Arab armies in the mid-seventh century resulted in the breakdown of civil and military order of the Eastern provinces and a colossal displacement of population.[28] Cappdocia became a border region of the Byzantine Empire, frequently raided by the Caliphate. From the 7th century, Cappadocia was divided between the Anatolic and Armeniac themes.[28] The frontier zone between Caeserea (Kayseri) and Melitene became a no-man's land, in which the akritai and ghazis fought each other and which is remembered in the epic Digenes Akritas.[33] The warfare, consisting of the yearly razzias as well as major campaigns took a heavy toll on the cities and villages, especially on the favourite Arab lines of march.[34]
Between the 7th and 10th century, Cappadocia was a border region of the Byzantine Empire
Cappadocia contains several underground cities (see Kaymaklı Underground City), many of which were dug by Christians to provide protection during the Arab raids and periods of persecution.[5] The underground cities have vast defence networks of traps throughout their many levels. These traps are very creative, including such devices as large round stones to block doors and holes in the ceiling through which the defenders may drop spears.
Throughout the Dark Ages to the Middle Byzantine period, Armenians immigrated in significant numbers into Cappadocia, partly due to imperial policies.[27] The Arab historian Abu Al Faraj asserts the following about Armenian settlers in Sebasteia, during the 10th century:
They [the Armenians] were assigned the Sebaste (now Siwas) district of Cappadocia. Their number grew to such an extent that they became valuable auxiliaries to the imperial armies. They were employed to garrison the fortresses reconquered from the Arabs (probably Membedj, Dolouk, etc.). They formed excellent infantry for the armies of Basileus in all wars, constantly fighting with courage and success alongside the Romans.[35]
As a result of the Byzantine military campaigns and the Seljuk invasion of Armenia, the Armenians spread into Cappadocia and eastward from Cilicia into the mountainous areas of northern Syria and Mesopotamia, and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was eventually formed. This immigration was increased further after the decline of the local imperial power and the establishment of the Crusader States following the Fourth Crusade. To the crusaders, Cappadocia was terra Hermeniorum, the land of the Armenians, due to the large number of Armenians settled there.[36]
In the 9th–11th centuries, the region comprised the themes of Charsianon with its capital at the eponymous city and Cappadocia, which had first its capital in Nyssa and then at Koron, after Nyssa had been sacked by the Arabs in 838.[37] By the mid-tenth century, the region was again reorganised as much of the no-men's land was resettled, especially around the area of Larissa, Tzamandos, and Lykandos.[37] After the Byzantine reconquests in the East finished, Cappadocia was again removed from the frontier and an increasingly demilitarised region in the eleventh century.[38]
Frescos inside Tokali Kilise, "Church of the Buckle".
Turkish Cappadocia
[edit]
Following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Turkish clans under the leadership of the Seljuks began settling in Anatolia. With the rise of Turkish power in Anatolia, Cappadocia slowly became a tributary to the Turkish states that were established to the east and to the west; some of the native population converted to Islam[39] with the rest forming the remaining Cappadocian Greek population.
By the end of the early 12th century, Anatolian Seljuks had established their sole dominance over the region. With the decline and the fall of the Konya-based Seljuks in the second half of the 13th century, they were gradually replaced by successive Turkic ruled states: the Karaman-based Beylik of Karaman and then the Ottoman Empire. Cappadocia remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1922, when it became part of the modern state of Turkey.[citation needed]
In the early 18th century, a fundamental change occurred in between when a new urban center, Nevşehir, was founded by a grand vizier who was a native of the locality (Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha), to serve as regional capital, a role the city continues to assume to this day. In the meantime many former Cappadocians had shifted to a Turkish dialect (written in Greek alphabet, Karamanlıca).
Where the Greek language was maintained (Sille, villages near Kayseri, Pharasa town and other nearby villages), it became heavily influenced by the surrounding Turkish. This dialect of Eastern Roman Greek is known as Cappadocian Greek. Following the foundation of Turkey in 1922, those who still identified with this pre-Islamic culture of Cappadocia were required to leave, so this language is now only spoken by a handful of their descendants, most now located in modern Greece.[citation needed]
Church
[edit]
Cappadocia Church (Turkish: Kapadokya Kilisesi) is a Christian church and local congregation in Avanos, a town in Nevşehir Province in Cappadocia.[40][41][42][43][44] The church holds Turkish-language worship services within a Protestant theological framework, according to its own statements.[45] Several online travel and business directories list it as one of the places of worship and visitation in Avanos.[42][43][44]
Modern tourism
[edit]
See also: Rock-cut architecture of Cappadocia
Cappadocia is famous for traditional cave hotels.
The area is a popular tourist destination, as it has many areas with unique geological, historic, cultural, and religious features. Touristic Cappadocia includes four cities: Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray and Niğde.[citation needed]
The region is located southwest of the major city Kayseri, which has airline and railway service to Ankara and Istanbul and other cities.[citation needed]
The most important towns and destinations in Cappadocia are Ortahisar, Ürgüp, Göreme, Love Valley, Ihlara Valley, Selime, Güzelyurt, Uçhisar, Avanos and Zelve.[citation needed] Cappadocia is served by Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV), which functions as the region’s primary airport. According to the Republic of Türkiye Directorate General of State Airports Authority (DHMİ), recent infrastructure and capacity expansion projects have increased the airport’s annual passenger capacity to nearly 2 million, a level considered sufficient for the region’s current tourism demand.[46]
Sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams and ignimbrite deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately nine to three million years ago, during the late Miocene to Pliocene epochs, underlie the Cappadocia region. The rocks of Cappadocia near Göreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. People of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia region carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits.[47]
Göreme became a Christian monastic centre in 300–1200 AD. The Yusuf Koç, Ortahane, Durmus Kadir and Bezirhane churches in Göreme, and houses and churches carved into rocks in the Uzundere, Bağıldere and Zemi Valleys, all evidence Cappadocia as a centre of early Christian learning and are thus a place of pilgrimage. The Göreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the Christian monastic communities in Cappadocia (see Churches of Göreme and Churches of the Ihlara Valley) and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. The complex contains more than 30 carved-from-rock churches and chapels, some having superb frescoes inside, dating from the ninth century to the eleventh century.[48]
The three main castles in Cappadocia are Uçhisar Castle, Ortahisar Castle, and Ürgüp Kadıkalesi (Temenni Tepe). Among the most visited underground cities are Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Gaziemir and Ozkonak. The best historic mansions and cave houses for tourist stays are in Ürgüp, Göreme, Güzelyurt and Uçhisar.[citation needed]
Hot-air ballooning is especially popular in Cappadocia, particularly around Göreme, offering sunrise flights over the region's fairy chimneys and valleys.[49]
Trekking is practised in Ihlara Valley, Monastery Valley (Güzelyurt), Ürgüp and Göreme.[citation needed]
Hot air balloons
Mesothelioma
[edit]
In 1975, a study of three small villages in central Cappadocia—Tuzköy, Karain and Sarıhıdır—found that mesothelioma was causing 50% of all deaths. Initially, this was attributed to erionite, a zeolite mineral with similar properties to asbestos, but detailed epidemiological investigation demonstrated that the substance causes the disease mostly in families with a genetic predisposition to mineral fiber carcinogenesis. The studies are being extended to other parts of the region.[50][51]
Media
[edit]
A video showing all the different landscapes and terrain of Göreme and Cappadocia
The area was featured in several films due to its topography. The 1983 Italian/French/Turkish film Yor, the Hunter from the Future and 1985's Land of Doom were filmed in Cappadocia. The region was used for the 1989 science fiction film Slipstream to depict a cult of wind worshippers. In 2010 and early 2011, the film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was filmed in the Cappadocia region.[52]
Autechre's second album, Amber, features a photo of this region's fairy mountains as the cover art,[53] being their only album whose cover isn't computer-generated.[citation needed]
Cappadocia's winter landscapes and broad panoramas are prominent in the 2014 film Winter Sleep (Turkish: Kış Uykusu), directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[54]
The 2011 video game Assassin's Creed Revelations features the city as a major location, where the protagonist Ezio Auditore travels to in a bid to stop the Byzantine Templars and their operations, kill Manuel Palaiologos and recover the final Masyaf key.
Sports
[edit]
Since 2012, a multiday track running ultramarathon of desert concept, called Runfire Cappadocia Ultramarathon, is held annually in July. The race tours 244 km (152 mi) in six days through several places across Cappadocia reaching out to Lake Tuz.[55] In September 2016, for the first time, the Turkish Presidential Bike Tour took place in Cappadocia, with more than 300 cyclists from around the globe participating.[56]
Gallery
[edit]
Aerial view of the town Göreme.
Aerial view of Uçhisar
General view of Ürgüp
Avanos
Göreme Historical National Park
The 'Three beauties' fairy chimneys, thought to be named after to Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, located in Ürgüp
Pigeon Valley, formerly known as Vasil Potamus
Aktepe "White Hill" near Göreme and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Balloons taking off at sunrise
Mt. Erciyes (3916 m), the highest mountain in Cappadocia
View towards Güzelyurt Monastery Valley and Church Mosque
Cappadocia traditional houses
Decorated tree with Uçhisar Castle in the background.
Horses roaming in Cappadocia
rock-cut architecture in Monks Valley, Paşabağ
A rock-cut church in Cappadocia
Derinkuyu underground city
Kaymakli underground city
Cappadocian Greeks in traditional clothing
Gümüşler Monastery Courtyard in Niğde
Çanlı Kilise, meaning "Bell Church" in Aksaray Province.
Kizil Kilise, meaning "Red Church" in Güzelyurt
Doors of Mustafapaşa
Architectural style of Avanos
Ortahisar castle
See also
[edit]
Amaseia
Ancient regions of Anatolia
Cappadocian Fathers
Cappadocia under the Achaemenids
Kandovan, Iran
Gondrani, Pakistan
Khndzoresk, Armenia
Syunik (historical province)
List of colossal sculpture in situ
List of traditional Greek place names
Mokissos
Tourism in Turkey
References
[edit]
^[Herodotus, The Histories, Book 5, Chapter 49]
^ Van Dam, R. Kingdom of Snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, p.13. [1]
^
Demir, Ömer (1997). Cappadocia: Cradle of History. 16: Azim Matbaacılık. p. 15. History, nature and mankind have created many important wonders in Cappadocia: 1- The unique natural landscape, include fairy chimneys, rock formations and valleys. 2- The rock-hewn churches decorated with frescoes from the 6th-12th C of scenes from the Bible, especially the lives of Jesus, Mother Mary and saints. 3- The underground settlements many consider to by the 8th wonder of the ancient world.cite book: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Demir, Ömer (1997). Cappadocia: Cradle of History. 16: Azim Matbaacılık. pp. 11–15, 70.cite book: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ abDemir, Ömer (1997). Cappadocia: Cradle of History. 16: Azim Matbaacılık. p. 70. However, the longest working and living period was the century when underground cities in Cappadocia were dug by Christians who could not bear Arabic and Sassanid threat after Capadocia was conquered … It is clearly visible in some underground cities in Cappadocia that the rooms located near the entrance are profoundly different from those that are inside. Saratli and Özlüce underground cities are given as an example regarding these differences.cite book: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Coindoz M. Archeologia / Préhistoire et archéologie, n°241, 1988, pp. 48–59
^Petra Goedegebuure, "The Luwian Adverbs zanta 'down' and *ānni 'with, for, against'", Acts of the VIIIth International Congress of Hittitology, A. Süel (ed.), Ankara 2008, pp. 299–319.
^Yakubovich, Ilya (2014). Kozuh, M. (ed.). "From Lower Land to Cappadocia". Extraction and Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper. Chicago: Oriental Institute: 347–52.
^See R. Schmitt, "Kappadoker", in Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, vol. 5 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1980), p. 399, and L. Summerer, "Amisos – eine Griechische Polis im Land der Leukosyrer", in: M. Faudot et al. (eds.), Pont-Euxin et polis. Actes du Xe Symposium de Vani (2005), 129–66 [135] According to an older theory (W. Ruge, "Kappadokia", in A.F. Pauly – G. Wissowa, Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, vol. 10 (Stuttgart: Alfred Druckenmüller, 1919), col. 1911), the name derives from Old Persian and means either "land of the Ducha/Tucha" or "land of the beautiful horses". It has also been proposed that Katpatuka is a Persianized form of the Hittite name for Cilicia, Kizzuwatna, or that it is otherwise of Hittite or Luwian origin (by Tischler and Del Monte, mentioned in Schmitt (1980)). According to A. Room, Placenames of the World (London: MacFarland and Company, 1997), the name is a combination of Assyrian katpa "side" (cf. Heb katef) and a chief or ancestor's name, Tuka.
^Bunbury & Hogarth 1911, p. 286.
^Janse, Mark (2009). "The resurrection of Cappadocian (Asia Minor Greek)". ΑΩ International.
^Van Dam, R. Kingdom of Snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, p.14. [2]
^Van Dam, R. Kingdom of Snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, p.14. [3]
^"The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites" (PDF). IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage. IUGS. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^Map of the Achaemenid Empire
^Evelpidou, Niki; Figueiredo, Tomás; Mauro, Francesco; Tecim, Vahap; Vassilopoulos, Andreas (2010-01-19). Natural Heritage from East to West: Case studies from 6 EU countries. Springer. ISBN 9783642015779.
^ abMary Boyce. Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Psychology Press, 2001 ISBN 978-0415239028 p. 85
^Raditsa 1983, p. 107.
^The coinage of Cappadocian kings was quite extensive and produced by highest standards of the time. See Asia Minor Coins – regal Cappadocian coins
^ abBunbury & Hogarth 1911, pp. 287–288.
^Bunbury & Hogarth 1911, p. 288.
^ abcdefMitchell 2018, p. 290.
^ abCooper & Decker 2012, p. 43.
^ abcCooper & Decker 2012, p. 21.
^Cooper & Decker 2012, p. 139.
^Cooper & Decker 2012, p. 184.
^ abThe Hungry are Dying: Beggars and Bishops in Roman Cappadocia by Susan R. Holman
^Cooper & Decker 2012, pp. 30, 161.
^Cooper & Decker 2012, pp. 24–25, 43.
^Cooper & Decker 2012, p. 23.
^Schlumberger, Gustave Léon (1890). Un empereur byzantin au dixième siècle, Nicéphore Phocas. Paris: Firmin-Didot. pp. 250–251.
^MacEvitt, Christopher (2008). The Crusades and the Christian World of the East: Rough Tolerance. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780812240504.
^ abCooper & Decker 2012, p. 22.
^Cooper & Decker 2012, p. 31.
^Vryonis, Speros (1971). The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-52-001597-5.
^"Kapadokya Kilisesi resmî sitesi". Kapadokya Kilisesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^"İletişim". Kapadokya Kilisesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^ ab"Kapadokya Kilisesi". Trip.com. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^ ab"Kapadokya Kilisesi". Yeni Firma (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^ ab"Kapadokya Kilisesi". Mindtrip. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^"Hakkımızda". Kapadokya Kilisesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^Republic of Türkiye Directorate General of State Airports Authority (DHMİ), Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport annual passenger statistics and capacity expansion reports.
^Demir, Ömer (1997). Cappadocia: Cradle of History. 16: Azim Matbaacılık. p. 19. The Christians taking shelter in the valleys of Göreme because of Arab raids, named this place 'gor emi' meaning 'you cannot see this place'. The name was changed to Korama and then to Göreme. With its very interesting fairy chimneys and the rock-cut churches, the valley of Avcılar, 17 km from Nevşehir and 6 cm from Ürgüp, attracts travellers' attention. St Paul considered Göreme to be more suitable for the training of missionaries. There are about 400 churches in the vicinity of Göreme which was one of the most important centres of Christianity between the 6th and the 9th C, including churches found in and around Zelve, Mustafapaşa, Avcılar, Uçhisar, Ortahisar and Çavuşin.cite book: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Demir, Ömer (1997). Cappadocia: Cradle of History. 16: Azim Matbaacılık. p. 19. The Christians taking shelter in the valleys of Göreme because of Arab raids, named this place 'gor emi' meaning 'you cannot see this place'. The name was changed to Korama and then to Göreme. With its very interesting fairy chimneys and the rock-cut churches, the valley of Avcılar, 17 km from Nevşehir and 6 cm from Ürgüp, attracts travellers' attention. St Paul considered Göreme to be more suitable for the training of missionaries. There are about 400 churches in the vicinity of Göreme which was one of the most important centres of Christianity between the 6th and the 9th C, including churches found in and around Zelve, Mustafapaşa, Avcılar, Uçhisar, Ortahisar and Çavuşin.cite book: CS1 maint: location (link)
^"Hot air ballooning in Cappadocia". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
^Dogan, Umran (2003). "Mesothelioma in Cappadocian villages". Indoor and Built Environment. 12 (6). Ankara: Sage: 367–75. Bibcode:2003InBEn..12..367D. doi:10.1177/1420326X03039065. ISSN 1420-326X. S2CID 110334356.
^Carbone, Michelle; et al. (2007). "A mesothelioma epidemic in Cappadocia: scientific developments and unexpected social outcomes". Nature Reviews Cancer. 7 (2): 147–54. doi:10.1038/nrc2068. ISSN 1474-175X. PMID 17251920. S2CID 9440201.
^"Cappadocia « the Spirits of Vengeance". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
^Palladev, George (9 February 2018). "Autechre — Amber. Short story behind the artwork". 12edit. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
^Corliss, Richard. "Winter Sleep: Can a Three-Hour-Plus Prize-Winner Be Just Pretty Good?". Time. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
^"Elite Athletes to run at The Runfire Cappadocia". Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau. July 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
^"VİDEO | Bisiklet festivali başladı - TRT Spor - Türkiye'nin güncel spor haber kaynağı". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bunbury, Edward Herbert; Hogarth, David George (1911). "Cappadocia". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 286–288.
Sources
[edit]
Cooper, Eric; Decker, Michael J. (24 July 2012). Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadocia. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-02964-5. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
Mitchell, Stephen (2018). "Cappadocia". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192562463.
Raditsa, Leo (1983). "Iranians in Asia Minor". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139054942.
Weiskopf, Michael (1990). "Cappadocia". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 7–8. pp. 780–86.
Ene Drăghici-Vasilescu, Elena, book "Byzantine and Medieval Cappadocia', Scientific Research Publishing |2024|978-1649979582|and Ene Drăghici-Vasilescu, Elena, "Shrines and Schools in Byzantine Cappadocia", Journal of Early Christian History, volume 9, Issue 1, 2019, pp. 1–29
Late Roman and early Byzantine provinces (4th–7th centuries AD)
History
As found in the Notitia Dignitatum. Provincial administration reformed and dioceses established by Diocletian, c. 293. Permanent praetorian prefectures established after the death of Constantine I. Empire permanently partitioned after 395. Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa established after 584. After massive territorial losses in the 7th century, the remaining provinces were superseded by the theme system in c. 640–660, although in Asia Minor and parts of Greece they survived under the themes until the early 9th century.
Western Roman Empire (395–476)
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1 Later the Septem Provinciae
2 Re-established after reconquest by the Eastern Empire in 534 as the separate Prefecture of Africa
3 Later the Diocese of Illyricum
4 Placed under the Quaestura exercitus in 536
5 Affected (i.e. boundaries modified, abolished or renamed) by Justinian I's administrative reorganization in 534–536
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