“If cat-heaven on earth existed, it would be Istanbul.” - Me

A bold statement, I know, so let me back-up and give you a little bit of context.

Turkey’s love affair with cats began long before Atatürk overthrew Sultan Mehmet VI and founded, in 1923, the Republic of Turkey. In fact, at the tail-end (pun very much intended) of the middle ages, when most of Europe was busy vilifying cats due to their links to paganism and witchcraft, the Ottomans were creating charitable foundations dedicated to caring for their street animals, including, or perhaps especially, their cats.