In most ways, Kuşköy resembles countless other villages nestled in the Pontic Mountains along Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Its 500 or so residents cultivate tea and hazelnuts; there is one street with a baker, a butcher, and a few cafes. It is the sounds, not the sights, that make Kuşköy different. For generations, villagers have conversed using a unique form of whistled communication they call “kuş dili,” or “bird language” in Turkish. In fact, the melodies of local birds are often similar to kuş dili; a morning song of the blackbird is the same as a famous verse in the Quran. Like other forms of whistled communication, kuş dili arose… Read More
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