Street Cats of Istanbul: Photo Post

This is a blog post I’ve been meaning to do for a long, long time.

For the past three years, I’ve collected more than 100 photos of the street cats of Istanbul. If you live here or have visited here, you can’t help but notice these furry felines everywhere. And I do mean EVERYWHERE! I’ve spotted them hanging out in Ayasofya as well as the Chora Church as you’ll see below.

There’s also hundreds of street dogs, but the street cats seemed to be the easiest for me to photograph. Many of the dogs are larger breed dogs and tend to get shooed away from the main streets. (Sadly, they are often abused too.)

I’m actually more of a dog person, but even I can’t resist these friendly cats, except when I’ve had one or two beat at my legs because they wanted food.

I’ve posted about the street cats before in two neighborhood posts which you can find here: The  Cats of Çukurcuma, and here: The Cats of Büyükada.

In this post, I’ve been trying to learn some new photo editing techniques using Adobe Lightroom 4. I’ve finally figured out how to make diptychs using this handy tutorial on Jay Watson’s Photography blog. Now, I can pair two images side by side, giving me more room to show you more photos here on the blog. Diptchs kind of showcase a mini story in one. Awesome!

Hope you enjoy!

What do you think of the Istanbul street cats as diptychs?

(By the way, you also should check out another fellow Istanbul blogger’s recent street cat post called: Cat-stantinople.)

Left: Ayasofya. Right: Blue Mosque.

Bottom photo: The infamous Callie the Cat over at my friends' place: Denizen Coffee in Sultanahmet.

Top photo: Cat seeks solitude in one of the many hans in the Grand Bazaar.
Bottom photo: Turkish cat attempts to 'capture' the peacock in Yesilyurt.

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Exploring Kanlıca in Istanbul, Finding the Best Yogurt

Have you ever hopped on some kind of public transportation – not knowing where it would go?

During our travels in Turkey, that’s happened to us several times. It’s just inevitable when you are trying to figure out how things work in a foreign place.

Well, while staying in Emirgan lately, we’ve observed these water taxis picking up and dropping off people along the Bosphorus in Istanbul. These small boats seem to run about every 10 to 15 minutes, but we didn’t know where they landed on the Asian side.

The other Sunday, my husband posed the question, “Let’s just hop on one of those boats and see where it goes. Wanna go?”

Of course, we hopped on the boat and ended up visiting the sleepy, waterside village of Kanlıca. We did this the next two weekends in a row via these water taxis. The cost is 5 tl per person, which is a lot more than the regular ferry boats (2 tl). However, the weekend ferry boat schedule to small destinations such as Kanlıca is quite limited.

This past weekend, we took my cousin Greg from Nebraska to visit Kanlıca via the water taxi too. Just sit back and enjoy the short ride across the Bosphorus.

We had no idea what to do in Kanlıca so we walked north along the shoreline where we passed dozens of fishermen and swimmers. Honestly, the walk wasn’t that scenic, but it was relaxing.

Before stopping near the Çubuklu Iskelsi (about 2 km.), I got yelled at by an armed Turkish  jandarma because apparently I had stepped onto a military pier. I never saw the sign indicating no photos and no trespassing. Oops!

Don't step on this pier like I did!

I waved, shouted “pardon” and hoped I would be forgiven for my yabancı moment.

We hopped on a bus back to Kanlıca and decided to walk around the small crafts market. I bought a ladybug nazarlık bracelet and a glass nar paperweight. Two Turkish women also were knitting and selling these adorable baby outfits and socks.

Most of these small gifts cost only 5-15 tl.

I noticed the nearby waterside cafes and suddenly remembered that Kanlıca is known for its creamy and tart yogurt! Visiting Kanlıca is listed in the Top7 Things to Do and Places to Visit on the Asian Side by The Guide Istanbul.

We grabbed an open table at the busy café and ordered 2 yogurts with powdered sugar. You also can order the yogurt with jam or honey.

For some reason, I had expected a more frozen-like or whipped yogurt (don’t ask why!), but nope, it was a traditional thick, creamy Turkish yogurt. Our order came with a large bowl of powdered sugar so you could sprinkle in as much sweetness as you wanted. The vast quantity of powdered sugar here reminded us of eating beignets in New Orleans as we did for our wedding weekend in 2010.

We also bought a large tub of yogurt to take home, which went well with fresh peaches for breakfast.

After our yogurt snack, we played with several street cats and their kittens and briefly walked around Kanlıca.

Just off the main square area, we found an antique store and several old wooden Ottoman houses. Then, it was time to catch the 4:50 p.m. ferry back to Emirgan.

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Istanbul for a few hours, head to this charming village. Simply getting to Kanlıca is half the fun!

How to get Kanlıca:

The water taxis depart every 10-15 minutes near the Emirgan Iskelesi on the European side.

Or check the regular ferry boat schedule here by departure location and destination.

A third option is to take bus No. 15 from Üsküdar to Kanlıca; or by a Beykoz-bound dolmuş from Üsküdar.

If you want a simple, but delicious Turkish meal by the seaside, try Yakamoz, pictured in the yellow building, here in Kanlıca.

Boats docked near the Kanlıca Iskelesi. Don't worry, the water taxis are motor boats.

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The Cats of Büyükada

Istanbul's island of Büyükada is known for its ornamental mansions, horse-drawn faytons and abundant fish restaurants.

It's not necessarily known for the hundreds of cats that call Büyükada home, but I couldn't help but take tons of photos of these furry felines yesterday.

The day started out with cloudy skies and patches of drizzly rain, so my desire to lay out on beach was crushed. Instead, my girlfriend and I strolled around the friendly island; or as I like to say "Let's do some gezmek-ing." (Gezmek is the Turkish word for to stroll.)

If you are  lucky enough to get away from the crowds on Büyükada, you suddenly feel like you're transported to a different era far away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul.

Here's a couple photos of the island's cats that captured my attention. Enjoy!

Please see related photo post: The  Cats of Çukurcuma.

Eavesdropping Cats of  Büyükada.

Smart Cat - waiting by a fish restaurant on  Büyükada.

Chilling Cat

Bucket Cat - all curled up.

Behind Bars Cat

Motorbike Cat

Lap Cat - We found this cat curled up on a local resident's lap.

Flower Cat

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The Cats of Çukurcuma

Buy a painting - get a free cat in Istanbul! =)

Many fuzzy felines - whether tabbies, black, grey, white or patchwork - call the streets of Istanbul home.

It's hard not to miss these, either skittish or friendly, cats because they are EVERYWHERE in this huge city!

When my U.S. friends visited here recently, I took my camera out about so I could shoot some good photos. One day we wandered about in the Çukurcuma neighborhood, located in the back streets of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul. This area is home to more than 100 antique shops, several art galleries and stores as well as many photogenic street cats. (More about the antiques in a future post.)

I took about 150 photos in just one afternoon while we roamed around in Çukurcuma. This area is a photographer's dream - if you love old buildings and fascinating architectural elements like I do! Currently, I'm in the process of editing and going through these photos.

For now, here's a few photos of my favorite street cats of Çukurcuma:

Cats of Çukurcuma - The watch "dog" of the neighborhood.

Cats of Çukurcuma - Curled up for a nap

Cats of Çukurcuma - Wooden wagon wheel for sale. Cat is not.

See a previous NY Times article about Çukurcuma.

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