Almost immediately after I arrived in Istanbul, I noticed an innumerable quantity of stray cats lounging about in the streets, but they all seemed to be happy and healthy. A number of stories surround why the residents and government are looking out for them, including an Islamic legend about a courageous feline saving the Prophet Muhammed from a venomous snake. This story led to the saying, “If you’ve killed a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God.” I hope that’s not why there are so many mosques (over 3,000) in Istanbul.