On a rooftop high above Cairo, Moustafa Hassan tenderly cares for his babies -- all 350 of them.
Hassan keeps a rooftop loft with both racing and "fancy" pigeons, and his birds are like family to him.
Cairo's pigeon breeders
"This is my son," he said, picking up his favorite pigeon. "I deal with all the pigeons like my son or my children."
Hassan's pigeons cost him
$600 a month in food alone, but he says it's a hobby that unites people
of all backgrounds, rich and poor, conservative and liberal.
"Every type of people in Egypt can breed the pigeon," he said. "It's a hobby and a very good hobby in Egypt."
Hassan is far from alone
in his hobby. He says there are two million Egyptians breeding pigeons
and that it gives them an escape from the country's political turmoil.
The age-old hobby is a constant despite the revolution, protests and
elections of the past year and a half.
