Istanbul Kitties

Some of the many wonderful kitties that call Istanbul "home". One of the most memorable aspects of visiting this vast, beautiful city are the encounters with the local street cats.
These feral furballs number in the hundreds of thousands, and they're beloved and respected by almost everyone. Because of this, they're generally given free reign of the city — snoozing atop cars, shamelessly stalking fishermen and sometimes just wandering into business establishments and classrooms out of curiosity.




The revered status of cats in this corner of the world can be summed up in the popular saying, "If you’ve killed a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God."



This decidedly pro-cat attitude can be traced back to an Islamic legend in which the prophet Muhammad was saved from a poisonous snake by a courageous feline. The impact of this one cat's heroic deeds can be felt in the city to this day.