…And They Called it Puppy Love (And Kitty Too!)

    So when we first arrived in Turkey things were a bit stressful for some of us. Long flights and lines at the airport took it out of us and our bus tour through Istanbul seemed like a whirlwind. After a bit of a hike with our luggage, it was a relief to be at our hotel, once we found our rooms, and eat some dinner. After dinner a few of us took a walk with our guide, Cenk, through the streets of Istanbul down to the Bosphorus. It was on that walk that we were first introduced to Turkey’s hidden gems…the stray cats and dogs. On every street we saw at least one, sometimes four or more of them and with each glance I could hear Sarah McLachlan whisper, “In the arms of the angels….” My heart broke for these animals, and Liz and I were awing at every last one of them. We noticed tags on some of the dog’s ears and asked Cenk what they were for. According to him, dogs with tags are given their shots and spayed or neutered. He also pointed out that many of the shop owners and people of the town set out food and water for the animals so they are essentially taken care of. Cenk told us that we would see many more throughout our travels and we were excited. The next morning as we waited to walk to our bus, a few of us noticed a cute dog that looked like a husky in front of the hotel. We watched him from afar and decided to name him Balto. One of the guys in our group built up the courage to pet Balto, and once we saw it was ok, a large of group of us gathered around and that’s when we fell in love. (Queue Sarah…”fly away from here…”) Balto followed us to our bus a few blocks away, and we all waved goodbye as Hiro, our driver, whisked us away to Troas. At each site we have learned so much about the history both biblically and culturally.

Balto of Istanbul, catching some sleep.

Sandy of Thyatira living a hard knock life.

It’s amazing to visit such places and see dogs or cats lounging in the shade of an ancient Doric column. I was honestly surprised to see how friendly and approachable each of the animals is. Upon first sight of a dog someone begins calling it and he or she will trot over, tail wagging just basking in the attention and we are too. Cats are the same way, all they need is a little psss psss psss, and they’re rubbing up on our legs or rolling over for us to scratch their bellies.

Cleopatra of Kusadessi ruling her kingdom

Patches of Izmir waiting for tummy love.

    It’s wonderful to be on this trip with such fun loving people. We all get along so well, but there’s something about snuggling a dog or petting a purring cat that eases any homesickness, loneliness or uncomfortability we might have. When we left Assos, several of us were nervous and stressed about our upcoming three night homestay in Izmir. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and there happened to be kitties and German Shepherd pups with their parents there. After we had ordered a few of us went over to see the pups and the waiters let us in the cage with the dogs to play. You could see the stress melting off of our faces as we nuzzled those fuzzy little puppies and got kisses all over. For me, it was definitely a therapeutic moment. With every ear scratch, tail wag and purr I fall deeper and deeper in love with the strays of Turkey. They have truly been a blessing to me on this trip.

Daisy, accepting scratches now.

Bandit of Smyrna, wanting to join the fun.

    Throughout our time we have met several new animal friends and have named them all. As we walk around seeing all of the beautiful ruins in what seems to be a dream, these animals help us to stay grounded and maybe even not miss home so much. I, for one, am thankful for the interaction we have with them and even more thankful that I don’t live here because I would surely become a dog and cat lady. I will leave you all with a firm warning…do not take any of us to shelters or places where we might see dogs or cats who need homes unless you want a new furry member of the family! :) P.S…Turkey is beautiful and we’re learning a lot!
- Melanie Schubert