The Cats of Hagia Sophia

by Darren

If you’ve been following our exploits over at EuroFifty, then you’ll have seen this picture before.

Hagia Sophia is a basilica which was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1,000 years until 1453, then became a mosque after the occupation of Istanbul by the Ottoman Empire. Since 1939 it is no longer a functioning place of worship (unlike the Blue Mosque which is right next door), and to be honest I thought it looked a bit run down and decrepit. I couldn’t understand why other people were getting so excited about a building site…

Then I found the cats. There were two stray cats using the lamps for warmth which, given we’d seen snow earlier that morning I think I’d have been inside next to the lamps too!