Istanbul, Men and Cats (page 3 of 9)

Monday, October 21

We reach the Asian side by walking across the Golden Horn, an estuary that flows into the Bosphorus.............

l

Asian side?!? You sure?

😉

Too much raki this early in the morning?

I don’t know anything about Istanbul (I didn’t even know if it was an "n" or an "m"),

You, who’s so attached to spelling? 😉 You can’t be the only one... I hadn’t thought about why, but I sometimes hesitate for a second, instinctively wanting to put an m...

https://lepetitjournal.com/istanbul/actualites/la-question-100-tl-doit-ecrire-istanbul-istambul-ou-istamboul-84105

I’ve always been told that proper nouns don’t have spelling 😇

We reach the Asian side by crossing the Golden Horn on foot, the estuary that flows into the Bosphorus.............

l

Asian side?!? You sure?

😉

Too much raki this early?

Whoa, that mask of yours is scary...

Yeah, I messed up (the perk of a travel journal is you can correct things 😉). You're right, I should stop having raki for breakfast...

I was always told that proper names didn’t have spelling

Totally, Materpro!

Yeah, but here, it changes the pronunciation 😛

We're heading toward the Kücük Pazar neighborhood, passing through some slightly run-down areas. Here and there, you can see renovation efforts, but I get the feeling the wooden houses might collapse at the slightest click of my camera!

















Kücük Pazar is a local neighborhood far from tourists and their hustle and bustle. I love it. It’s peaceful, pretty, the locals are calm and smiling. My treats are a big hit—I knew they’d help break the ice! A man invites us for tea and sets up a makeshift table among his cats, tires, inner tubes, and other boxes. I sit on a squeaky plastic chair, and we chat for about an hour—time just seems to stand still...













Back toward Eminönü to catch the tram to Galata this time. I notice these very bearded fathers who’ve already put headscarves on their young daughters. They’re so little... I imagine they’d chop my head off with a sword if I took their photo without permission. So I go for it—bold move . A very brief nod from them lets me know it’s okay. They don’t even notice me, too busy with their own conversation.

Was there something preventing you from taking the Bosphorus Underground Line (BUL)?



I love it. But you already know that.

Was there something blocking the BUL?

No, just a framing choice. I have another shot, but the lens distortion is really bad. I tried fixing it in post-processing, but it’s not great. I run into this issue a lot...

Distortion is every photographer’s nightmare.

I tried to straighten it out a bit, but it’d be easier with the original photo. Oh well...

Tuesday, October 22

After the discouraging queue for the Hagia Sophia, we find the Blue Mosque under renovation! The visit is brief, with false ceilings hiding the dome.





Nel momento in cui ho visto il tuo sguardo, sapevo che stavo per soccombere.





We try the Basilica Cistern. It’s a gigantic underground cistern, a strange monument I’ve been eager to visit. A major rehabilitation project was undertaken in 1985... I should’ve seen this: (photo copied from toutistanbul.com)



But all I saw was this:



And I also saw this—a Punch and Judy-style theater where you get photographed, made up, and dressed up. The "official" photographer yelled at me when he saw my camera. I could’ve told him that charging 20 TL for entry when the cistern isn’t even filled with water is a bit much! But then, he’d lose his job.



A day without cats isn’t a normal day...







We drag our disappointment through the neighborhood—turns out it’s actually pretty nice—and go drown our sorrows in a glass of apple tea (an excellent local specialty ;))

We're taking the metro to reach the Edirne Kapı (Gate of Adrianople) neighborhood and visit the Kariye Camii church. And guess what? The church is under renovation! I'll make do with little... Amen.







Heading back to Galata, passing through the Draman neighborhood where there’s a lovely night market sometimes haunted by ghosts...

Hello fellow world explorer 🙂

As usual, a travel journal that grabs your attention, but...

sometimes haunted by ghosts

I’d rather stick with my Siamese ghosts trouble among the ghosts

A Punch and Judy show where you get photographed, made up, and dressed up

They’re stunning, with shy smiles just waiting to bloom

The "official" photographer yelled at me

A real Turkish scapegoat, in a way

😏

Hello Kate

I’m not really drawn to Istanbul (but I *am* drawn to cats), but I’ll happily follow along with you. Maybe you’ll change my mind...

Here’s an intruder 😉!



Muriel

Good evening Obeo

Your film looks lovely, but so sad 😕

Hello Muriel!

I’m not really drawn to Istanbul (but I am to cats, yes)

So with Masterpo, that makes two of you 😉 Carpool and motivate each other! 😛

Many cats find their balance through contact with humans—us, their surrogate parents. But they’re territorial first and foremost, so in Istanbul, they have to put up with their fellow felines. That’s easier when food is plentiful. They tolerate each other and make compromises, though sometimes, depending on the season, things can get tense...

Their mating behavior usually happens at night. But that day, the female in question must’ve been quite the catch! The "session" lasted at least 10 minutes.

Hi Kate, Istanbul’s been on my top list for quite a while now, so I’ll definitely be following this travel journal with great interest . Well, I’ll avoid telling my husband there are so many cats because they’re really not his favorite animal 😉. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Isabelle,

You should tell your husband there are lots of dogs too! 😉 But unlike cats, they live in packs, so you often come across groups of 5 or 6 big, fluffy mutts lounging on the sidewalks, waiting for the municipal kibble truck. They all look alike—kind of like labrador-wolf mixes. They’re tagged on the ear, vaccinated, and neutered. Sometimes they buddy up with the cats and are just as loved by Istanbul locals as the felines are 🙂

Sometimes they buddy up with the cats... they're as loved by Istanbul locals as the cats themselves 🙂...

A bit like back home, really— no borders for our animal friends 🙂

At Uncle Pai’s wharf: youtu.be/RTbyY1wuBmk

Oh, awesome! I’ll tell him it’s a pet-friendly destination—he’ll love it! 😻😻😻