What IS That? A Cat Park
When we receive visitors from outside the country, the most common question we hear is “what is that?” Inevitably they will be pointing to something that is not quite distinguishable, something that you don’t see everyday, or maybe any day in the States. While we don’t always know the answer (we continue to ask “what is that?” on a regular basis ourselves), we would like to document some of the most memorable and unusual sights we see as part of daily life here in a series of brief posts.
One thing you may notice as you stroll the streets of Turkey is that there are cats EVERYWHERE. On windowsills, climbing fences, climbing trees, napping, hunting, playing and generally just around. The vast majority of them do not belong to anyone in particular. Rather, they belong to the community at large, and mostly subsist off of leftover food and water put out by people in the neighborhood.
In the market
In Istanbul's Hagia Sophia
In the Metro
Recently, however, we saw an official Cat Park.
Though it looked like any other local park at first, the signs told us that this area was specially designated for cats. There were statues of cats, bowls of food and water put out by the local municipality, plenty of bushes and trees to nap under and around, and even a fenced in area for the kittens to play in, complete with toys, shelter, and trees wrapped up like scratching posts.
Of course we made a new friend.
Not all Turks prefer having pets in their homes. However, their compassion really shines when it comes to caring for the animals that in America would be called “strays” but here in Turkey are considered “community” pets.
TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE WEST, KEEP LOOKING EAST!
Ginny Lou Henley
Ginny Lou is a co-founder of West2East. Originally from Alabama, Ginny Lou has called Turkey home for the past nine years. To read more about her, click here.