Cats And Coffee

 

Do you see the cat on the moped? This little guy entertained us a few years ago while we were sitting in a little street café called "Green Corner" almost right next to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It was the morning after the wedding of the Geek's cousin and we just had a few more hours before his mother, brother and nephew had to leave for the airport for their flights back home (we were lucky to have one more week in Turkey to look forward to). After the wedding that started late in the evening and lasted into the early morning hours, we were a bit tired and didn't feel much like walking around. So we had some iced coffee in this little street café that we had frequented several times during the week before.

However, this was the first time that we saw this cat. It inspected the moped, hopped on the seat and finally lay down to take a short nap.

This wasn't the only time that we were entertained or visited by a cat while taking a coffee break. It happened again when we had a very delicious iced coffee (they make great iced coffee in Turkey) in a little street café in Selçuk (which is not far from the famous site of Ephesus).

We were planning the next day when this little cat turned up and decided to hang out right next to us. I ended up resting halfway on the sidewalk and halfway on the street. It didn't mind since everybody in Turkey seemed to be very considerate of stray cats and dogs. The Turkish people feed them, give them places to sleep safely, care for them, even pay veterinary bills if the need arises. If a cat crosses a street, traffic comes to a stop and everybody waits patiently until the little stinker is on the other side of the street. I've never seen a country where stray animals are so much loved as in Turkey.

Back in Istanbul, we of course paid a last visit to the "Green Corner" for our last Turkish iced coffee. There was no way we would leave without a final taste of this delicacy.

Guess who was there? Our little moped loving four-legged friend.

Have you watched the movie "Kedī" (Turkish for 'cat')? It's a wonderful little movie about the cats in Istanbul and the people of Istanbul. I watched it after having been to Istanbul and I felt like being back in the magical city. I wrote about the cats of Istanbul here.

The coffee, of course, is for the T gang - all gathered for Elizabeth's T Tuesday.