Throughout its life as a church, then mosque and now museum, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia has remained a grand and dignified beacon. Each year, thousands of people arrive to view its Byzantine beauty and take in the domes and pillars, mosaics and minarets, just as Francis and I did in 2011. And quite unexpectedly, (but just like the occasion at Monsoon Palace in Udaipur, India), I met a cat. There, among the sumptuous decor, sat the most nonchalant of cross-eyed feline squatters, tolerating the human traffic and waiting for the sun to shift so that there’d be a warm place to lie. Not a bad place to while away your time, really.
Have you ever encountered any unexpected residents — feline or other?
I love tabby cats! Maybe being surrounded by that architectural splendour all day is enough to make any creature go cross-eyed. Gotta hand it to cats, though, they get their priorities right!
Right, it could’ve picked a worse place to hang out!
Cats seem to know where to hang out! There were so many of them in Rome at the Coliseum lounging, scrounging and napping. I sense a mini posterboard and theme when you are travelling now Laura!
It’s amazing how unbothered they are by all that’s going on around them — the Coliseum isn’t exactly a quiet place, either! And I love your idea for a travel animals posterboard, it could be a fun thing to set up on Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by, Lisa.
This is truly an amazing place in an amazing city! I visited Istanbul while I was living in nearby Bulgaria for two years, and yes, I also captured a Turkish cat in one of my photographs!
Was the Turkish cat at Hagia Sophia? Because a Twitter friend tweeted a link to me of the photo she took of this *same* cat there in November, about a month after I was there. Stuff like that really makes it feel like a small world.
Interested to hear your perceptions of Bulgaria. I spent just two nights in Varna while en route to Istanbul and unfortunately was gifted with food poisoning the first night so didn’t get out to see much.
Struck by the fact that animals have an uncanny knack of making the best of whatever food supply is on offer and then relaxing in sunny spots. I have a picture somewhere of a lazing hound in Florence, in the sunshine, right in a shop doorway. I’ll see if I can find it.
Sometimes I really do think that animals have better lives than us!! 🙂
That’s one seriously cross-eyed kitty. 😉
Can you imagine trying to have a serious conversation with that cat? I couldn’t keep a straight face.
This is funny! Love you and your traveling! I can do it through you! Went to a Travel Health appointment yesterday for an upcoming trip to Haiti, and I thought of you the whole time.
Oh my goodness, I want to hear more about this Haiti trip and what you’ll be doing there, Jodi!! xo
Most unexpected residents I’ve encountered came in the form of rodents, usually being ones that take up residence in one of the old camp trailers on my family’s property in Montana. Plus, I once found a squirrel in a toilet and in a heater when I worked in Yellowstone. YUCK! I didn’t encounter any cats when I visited the Hagia Sophia, but they were all over the place in Delphi and all over Athens for that matter. The number of stray dogs roaming around Athens really is astounding. I guess the Greeks think it’s cruel to spay and neuter… and having oodles of kitties rub your legs while dining out is just fantastic!
I swear to God, I should be keeping a list of great band names compiled from my blog comments. Squirrel in a Toilet. Kind of punk, kind of edgy, hey?
Kitties at your feet is sweet, but it’d be hard not to give them your entire dinner.
Maybe this cat was an Imam in a former life? Oh wait, karma comes from a different religion. I’ve encountered resident cats in shops and restaurants in my travels but never in a museum. This one looks quite content.
I was glad they let it in, and let it stay!