Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2025 in the Um Dawan Ban area, east of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, shows a group of long-distance racing homing pigeons making an aerial tour around a feeding and training house, which also serves as the race's main landing point. (Photo by Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua)
KHARTOUM, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Across the neighborhoods of East Nile locality, east of Sudan's capital Khartoum, tall wooden towers rise from the rooftops -- clusters of intertwined boxes punctuated by tiny window-like openings. From within them comes the soft flutter of wings and gentle coos, a quiet reminder that this place, despite the war, still holds on to its own private sky.
Here, at sunrise, a daily ritual unfolds, part habit, part hope: cages opening, pigeons are released into the air, soaring before circling back, as if rehearsing a ceremony of freedom and loyalty.
On the roof of his home in the Al-Haj Yousif neighborhood, Hasabal-Rasoul Salem stands poised. He lets out a sharp whistle, waves his hand, then lifts the upper hatch of one of his wooden cages.
In an instant, a flock of homing pigeons bursts out like a drifting cloud, swirling in a widening circle before steadily rising, as though following a secret path only they can read.
"The best moments of my day are when I see my birds fly and return. Flying is the test of intelligence; returning is the test of loyalty," Salem said with a smile, watching them with the eye of a seasoned breeder.
He continued, "I've loved raising pigeons since childhood, especially fancy breeds. But 2014 was the turning point when I specialized in homing pigeons and began competing in races in Darfur."
Pointing to rows of cages housing Belgian, German and Arab lineages, he added, "These birds don't just return to a place, they return to their owner."
On another rooftop, inside a room dedicated entirely to racing pigeons, the cages are arranged meticulously, some wooden, some made of wire, but all containing birds with striking beauty: sharp beaks, powerful wings and eyes gleaming like polished agate.
Mohamed Ali Abdul-Rahman moves between the cages, gently checking feathers and inspecting wings.
"Homing pigeons aren't just about looks," he explained. "You have to know their stamina, memory, age and endurance. Before the war, our races headed west toward Darfur or south toward Blue Nile. Now the direction has changed, northward, to the Northern State."
A major race is scheduled for December, he noted. It will be the first official event launched from Khartoum and landing in Dongola city in northern Sudan, drawing clubs from several states.
Beyond the rooftops, the heartbeat of the hobby is also felt in the weekly pigeon market in Bahri city, north of Khartoum. Cages line the ground and crowd onto small carts -- homing pigeons displayed beside fancy breeds: Fantails, Pouters, Shkodra pigeons and butterfly-patterned varieties in dazzling colors.
"Before the war, this hobby was thriving. The war halted imports and activity, but now we're trying to breathe life back into it," said Hassan Wad Al-Rayes, one of the city's prominent traders and importers.
"Fancy pigeon breeding is a global hobby, and some breeds are priceless. We hope the authorities reopen import channels again," he added, holding a thick-feathered Fantail pigeon.
In East Nile locality, five breeders gather daily at sunset to train their birds, releasing them at varying distances, checking responsiveness to calls, confirming navigational memory and tracking timing.
"Racing pigeons are our first passion -- an endless love," said Lotfi Ezzeddine, one of the breeders.
"We still hold local competitions within Khartoum State, and despite the war, the hobby survived. We even managed to import stronger, more competitive bloodlines," he noted.
As he released another flock into the sky for training, he added, "The pigeons fly with confidence, as if they don't see the war -- only the memory of their way home."
Now, as Dec. 5 approaches, the date of the first homing-pigeon race to be held from Khartoum, breeders are conducting daily training sessions, logging data, attaching metal rings and debating the race route from Khartoum to Dongola, a journey that may exceed 500 km.
"For us, the race isn't just a competition," Salem said. "It's the announcement that life has returned to Khartoum's sky -- that the heart of the hobby is beating again." ■
Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2025 in the Um Dawan Ban area, east of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, shows a homing-pigeon breeder inspecting his pigeons ahead of upcoming homing-pigeon race. (Photo by Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2025 in the Um Dawan Ban area, east of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, shows a racing homing pigeon, which won the gold medal in a previous race held in western Sudan. (Photo by Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2025 in the Um Dawan Ban area, east of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, shows a child training and inspecting homing pigeons at his home in preparation for an upcoming homing-pigeon race. (Photo by Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua)