The winged children of the sea, follow fishes in all waters of Turkey, who meets with four seas.

What was it the irrepressible Turkish poet Can Yücel said? “Gulls are the street children of the sea.” Was he thinking of the gulls (of the order Charadriiformes) of Istanbul when he said that? If he was, it makes no difference. The winged children of the sea pursue fish in all the four seas surrounding Turkey's coasts. With piercing cries they fly behind the fishing boats. When the boats return from the open sea with full nets the gulls are overjoyed. The Turkish writer Melih Cevdet Anday once compared the languages of gulls and pigeons: “The language of pigeons and doves is monotonous, and because it consists of constant repetition is tedious. We interpret their voices as Turkish, so in Paris when I heard these endearing birds saying, ‘Üsküdar’a gidelim,’ (Let's go to Üsküdar), I was astounded at the prevalence of our language. Of course, that is not all they say; there is also, ‘I am fine, I am fine, I am fine... ,’ and ‘I am waiting my turn, I am waiting my turn, I am waiting my turn... .”