Cats!

Hello from Istanbul. As I write the post today I am sitting near a cat that looks just like my cat Mazurka who passed away a few years ago. This is a comforting experience as Sarah, Tommy, and I expected that missing our cats might be the biggest challenge of this adventure. And it almost was… that is until we moved to Turkey where the influence of Islamic Law has allowed for a land where cats thrive! And I don’t just mean pets, I mean the cats of the streets, and there are thousands.

For those of you looking for the religious history there are many places you can look, but in a nutshell here is what we’ve learned. The Prophet Muhammed was said to have a love of his cat. Later, while at prayer it is said that a snake sneaked up on him from behind and a cat saw this and killed the snake and saved the life of the prophet. Similarly, it is said that each day a cat cleans itself roughly five times a day which is the same amount of times as is required by Islamic Law. As a result cats are not considered necis, which means unclean in a religious way.

In practical terms this means that around Turkey, including where we were in Ankara and perhaps even more so in Istanbul, cats are all over the city and are taken care of by everyone. The state collects cats off the street and if they are not already been identified, they check their health, get them fixed, and release them again. Hotels, restaurants, and store owners make sure they have food and water, and around the city are food dispensers that are paid for by donations that can be made in any currency. Similarly the cats go in and out of these establishments as if it were their own homes.

Religious sites are also no different. Given that they are not unclean, cats have the freedom to enter even the holy of spaces in a mosque or church where human visitors are not even allowed. In fact, many such places have “adopted” stray cats who are especially drawn to a certain religious site and they become regular members. Several have even attained fame nearly as big as the sites themselves (with YouTube videos and Instagram accounts). One of the most recent stars was Gli the cat from Hagia Sophia. I have posted a video about Gli below and we are making our own journey to the garden where Gli has recently been buried beside her daughter.

In addition to the Gli video are some pics of our current hotel with sidewalk bowels, Tommy donating to park food dispensers, the cat that was playing in the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) while were were there, and also some of the recent cat stars of Istanbul.

Gli, (2004 – 2020) born at Hagia Sophia and lived there until her death (in the hospital).

This is Tombili (Turkish for a chubby pet) a “stray” who lived in Ziverbey, a neighborhood of Istanbul. He was so loved that following his death the mayor approved a monument!

Here is the playful kitty we watched racing around inside the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque).

And a more regal friend relaxing within the enclosed square of the same mosque.

Here is Tommy putting coins in to feed the cats of Istanbul

An example of a hotel feeding spot.

I’m sure in America the health inspector would not allow this! Our new friend at dinner in a food stall outside the Grand Bazaar!