When I first landed in Istanbul , I was awed by the scenery and landscape . Two days later when I sat down to view the pictures I had taken during the sightseeing tour , I was stumped to notice that I had an unusually large number of cat pictures .
Many visitors have noted the abundance of stray cats in the old imperial capital of Istanbul . The cats amble and lounge around some mosques and have the run of a couple of universities . Online campaigns gather supplies for them , and it ’ s easy to spot nibbles and plastic containers of water left discreetly on sidewalks for the felines .
Not only do cats roam the streets , but also the souvenir items , decoration pieces and even the
T R A V E L
graffiti on walls and paintings are flooded with cats .
Our first encounter with a friendly feline was on the first day of our trip at the Kumkapi District .
Kumkapi is an old Ottoman Greek and Armenian fishermen ’ s district near the Sea of Marmara shore . It is surrounded by many seafood restaurants .
When we were enjoying dinner , a cat ran underneath the chair and for a moment no one could understand what just happened . It was later that we realized that there was a beautiful cat purring at our feet hoping someone at the table would share the exquisite seafood .
THE ROYAL CATS
The next morning , we visited the Dolmabache Palace . The palace had been home to six Sultans and all their belongings were still intact . The architecture and possessions of the Sultan ’ s were breath taking and the cherry on top was when we saw a cat and a duck roaming around together like friendly companions . It was one of the most admirable sights I had seen in a very long time . Two animals , so different from each other , were peacefully coexisting . It almost seemed as though they were trying to teach the human race a very important lesson .
The importance of cats in Islamic culture and society has made stray cats a common find in many Muslim countries like Turkey .
The following morning of our sightseeing tour involved a lot of walking . Our day began at the Hippodrome of Constantinople , now known as Sultanahmet Square .
Near the Obelisk of Theodosius , which is today known as Sultanahmet Meydani , we were amazed to come across a very beautiful and rare breed of cat ; the Turkish Angora . The beautiful brown furry feline sat across us and we rushed to take pictures of it .
The interesting thing about the cats in Istanbul was that they were as friendly as the people we met there . It is almost as if they are immune to human interaction .