Doha. 7 am. I jump out of the hammam of my ancient hotel in Souq Waqif, get dressed, and walk hastily through the cardamom-scented alleyways. Never have I been so chuffed about going to a hospital. I am headed to the Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital dedicated to falcons, the hook-beaked and sharp visioned birds of prey that are an integral part of the Qatari culture.
The outpatient ward of the Souq Waqif Hospital is crowded with men and their falcons. With three veterinarians, the state-of-art-facility caters to 140 falcons every day.
The falcons
Aloon is perched on a weighing scale. She is 866 grams. Ideal for a 4-year-old girl. Jaiba is a tad unwell; a stool test has been prescribed. One patient sits on a green shelf, another fiddles with its jess. Then, she walks in. Perched on a man’s wrist like an expensive weighty bracelet. Then a pretty young falcon wearing an elegant handcrafted teal burqa (a falcon hood is also called burqa). Veterinarians in scrubs flip through files with Aloon’s medical history. Jaiba is a new patient. The chip embedded under her skin is scanned and all personal details drop down in the computer. Her name, age, address. Name of the owner. If required, Jaiba will be anaesthetised and treated for a failing heart.
The falcons come here not only to be treated for bad eyesight, failing heart or an upset tummy but they can get a makeover, too. Trim the notched beak. Clip the talons. Or imp them - a centuries-old technique to replace a broken feather with a close match from a previous molt or from another bird. Even give their tired wings a massage.
In Qatar, falcons are precious. The Arabic language has more than 1,500 terms for falcons and falconry, and the first known reference to falconry occurs in the ruins of Nineveh under the Assyrians in an engraving dated to 750 B.C., in current-day Iraq.
The falconers
According to legend, the first falconer was the ruthless King of Persia who lived in 700BC. He was so intrigued by a falcon, catching a bird on the wing, that he ordered it captured. His intentions were noble – he wanted to learn from the raptor. He did. Thereafter, the king became a wiser and patient ruler. Or so the story goes.
There are very strict laws about falconry, the first being respect for the falcon. Falconry is amana which means upholding the trust.
Falcon market
Evenings in Souq Waqif are cacophonous. The chirrup of the budgerigar, the hissing of the cockatoo and the squeak of the rabbits in the Bird Market. Sounds of horses’ hooves and camels complaining.
The mornings, however, are sombre. Except the Falcon Souq that caters to nearly 3,000 falcon owners in Qatar. Cobblers hunch over sheets of animal hide to handcraft the hoods and beautiful jesses are sold as leash. In Birds Centre, Abbas Sufi preens the falcons as they wait for a generous buyer (falcon prices range from Rs 40,000 to several crores). Buyers pay attention to every detail, especially the nostrils - a good falcon has really large nostrils.
In Aaahed Bin Ali shop, at least 20 falcons - young and old - sit on shelves ready to be sold. Very few falcons are from Qatar, most come from Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Egypt and some European nations.
For a evening, I become a falcon student, learning all that I can of the birds that have existed from the time of the pharaohs and of falconry as a sport that was introduced in Qatar nearly 5,000 years by the Bedouin tribes.
Amur falcon, I am told, at its migratory best, flies across the equator for approximately 22,000 km; Lanner is known for the striped feathers; Saker famed for its beauty and strength, is the second largest falcon; Pergrine is the fastest recorded animal in the world with a flight speed of up to 389 km per hour; Barbary has sharp and fishing hook-like beaks while the slim and long-winged Sooty Falcon is well known for their long-distance migrations.
Of the list, Saker and Peregrine are the more popular hunters that are conventionally trapped, tamed, and prepared for sale in the market. If you are lucky, you might attend a public falcon auction, usually reserved for men. In September this year, a Mongolian falcon used for hunting was sold for 911,000 Qatari riyals (about Rs 1.95 crore) in Doha and the prize money for the Most Beautiful Falcon Hood was $3,000.
In Doha, I did not haggle with Abbas Sufi for the price of a Peregrine (I'm not a deft falconer carrying the bird of prey on my wrist). But I’ll happily wear the scrubs and help heal a falcon in the Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital. Or give her tired wings a massage. After all, it is amana (upholding the trust).
Falcons Zone in Doha during FIFA World Cup
Dates: November 18 to December 18, 2022
Timing: 4-11 pm
Venue: Building no. 19, Katara Cultural Village
Falcons Zone is dedicated to the lovers of falcons: it will display the art of falcon training and help visitors to learn and understand about falconry in the Arab culture.
Annual S'hail - International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition
The Katara Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) hosts S'hail - International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition to promote Qatar’s rich Arab heritage by supporting falcon enthusiasts and the hobby of hunting. The sixth edition was held in September 2022.
Annual Qatar Falconry Festival
Al Gannas, Qatar’s only falconry association, holds the Annual Qatar Falconry Festival in which the fastest falcon to fly and catch a pigeon can win nearly Rs 20 lakh cash.
Flying with falcons
Qatar Airways passengers may travel with one falcon in the cabin per passenger.
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