Cats and Roses

Istanbul is full of stray cats.

They appear to be fat and healthy.

Cats wander up to the table at all outdoor restaurants and gaze up expectantly. The cats belong to everyone and no one. Care of the cats is sort of a neighborhood project with food and water left out everywhere.

There are efforts to collect the cats and give them birth control operations.

Istanbul is a predominately Muslim society where cats are tolerated, even respected.An Associated Press article from August 2010, says that Islamic lore tells of a cat thwarting a poisonous snake that had approached the Prophet Muhammad. In another tale, the prophet found his cat sleeping on the edge of his vest. Instead of shifting the cat, the prophet cut off the portion of the vest that was free and wore it without disturbing the cat.

We visit the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (no pictures) and the amazing Museum of Islamic Technology. They have lovely navigational and astronomical relics and ingenious catapults and waterwheel models.

Roof top garden breaking bad.

This model makes me want to build my own trebuchet and hurl pumpkins at my enemies.

Psst! Hey buddy! Want to buy a rug?

You can feed the cats in the restaurant and it is expected and approved....no one says "don't feed the cats, it will just encourage them to come back"...there are also packs of large dogs running wild among the tourists....they seem happy too....

We set the alarm today to get into the Blue Mosque when it opens....We are starting to get the timing of the call to prayer times when the muezzin's singing comes from the loudspeakers in the  mosque towers....it comes from every direction....kind of like dueling banjos....