Neighbourhood Istanbul, Türkiye
Cats in Galata and Karaköy
The Genoese tower, the steep lanes down to the Golden Horn, the fish stalls of Karaköy and the cafés of Cihangir, the neighbourhood the cat film made famous. If Istanbul is the cat capital of the world, this is the district it governs from.
Where to find cats in Galata and Karaköy: Galata, on the hill north of the Golden Horn in Beyoğlu, Istanbul: the tower, the lanes down to Karaköy, and Cihangir on the far side of the hill. When: Morning at the fish stalls of Karaköy, afternoon on the steps of Cihangir. Spring and autumn. Why here: The neighbourhood in Kedi, the film that made Istanbul’s cats famous, and still the best-fed cats in a city that feeds them all.
The short version
- Where
- Galata, on the hill north of the Golden Horn in Beyoğlu, Istanbul: the tower, the lanes down to Karaköy, and Cihangir on the far side of the hill
- When
- Morning at the fish stalls of Karaköy, afternoon on the steps of Cihangir. Spring and autumn
- How long
- Half a day. A whole day with the museums and the ferry
- What it costs
- Free. The tower has a ticket and a queue. The tea is cheap and the fish sandwich is the lunch
- Why here
- The neighbourhood in Kedi, the film that made Istanbul’s cats famous, and still the best-fed cats in a city that feeds them all
What to bring
- Shoes for hillsGalata drops from the tower to the water in a few hundred metres of steps and cobbles. Cihangir is the same on the other side.
- A small bag of dry foodThis is Istanbul; feeding is a civic habit and the bowls are everywhere. Top one up.
- Lira for tea and fishThe Karaköy fish stalls and the tea gardens by the tower are where the cats are and where you will sit.
- MorningThe fish stalls are busiest early and the cats are working them. By noon the tower queue is round the block.
Why there are cats everywhere
The film Kedi followed seven Istanbul cats around Galata, Cihangir and the waterfront, and it made this hill the most famous cat neighbourhood on earth.
Galata was the Genoese trading colony across the water from old Constantinople, and its tower, built in 1348, still stands over the hill. Below it, the lanes drop steeply to Karaköy on the Golden Horn, where the ferries land and the fish stalls are. Above it, over the ridge past Istiklal, Cihangir is the district of cafés, antique shops and steep streets where half the city’s artists live. All three are full of cats, and all three were in the 2016 film Kedi, which followed seven of them and the people who feed them.
Istanbul feeds its cats as a matter of civic habit, with bowls on doorsteps, food from the fishmongers, cat houses knocked together on corners, and a municipality that runs feeding stations and clinics. Galata is the concentrated version. The fish stalls of Karaköy have cats under them all morning. The tea gardens around the tower have them on the chairs. The cemetery of the Mevlevi lodge, the whirling dervish house halfway down the hill, has them on the tombstones. Cihangir’s steps have a cat every ten metres and a bowl every twenty.
Walk it from the water up: Karaköy, the fish stalls and the ferry, the steps to the tower, the lodge, then over the top to Cihangir for the afternoon. You will have stopped counting by the tower.
The walk
From the ferry at Karaköy up the steps to the tower, the dervish lodge, and over the hill to Cihangir. Three hours, mostly uphill, with tea and a fish sandwich.
- From SultanahmetTram T1 to Karaköy15 minAcross the Galata Bridge, which has its own cats on the fishing side.
- From Kadıköy or ÜsküdarFerry to Karaköy20 minThe right way to arrive. The cats meet the boat.
- From TaksimWalk down Istiklal to Tünel, then downhill20 minOr the Tünel funicular, the second-oldest underground in the world, for two minutes of it.
Karaköy and the fish stalls
The ferry landing on the Golden Horn and the fish stalls behind it, where the cats work the counters all morning. A fish sandwich from a stall is the breakfast; the cat by your feet has already had theirs.
At the fish stall. Hungry is a pose; they are fed constantly.Tilemahos Efthimiadis, CC BY 2.0 The Galata Tower
Up the steps and the steep lanes to the Genoese tower on top of the hill, with tea gardens around its base. Cats on the chairs and the steps. The tower has a ticket and a view; the cats have the chairs.
Near the tower. The lanes are theirs; the tower is for the queue.Jamie J. Hagen, CC BY 2.0 The Galata Mevlevi Lodge
Down Galip Dede Street towards Tünel, the dervish lodge and museum with its garden cemetery of Ottoman tombstones. Cats among the stones. Quiet, and worth the small ticket for the hall.
The lodge cemetery. Ottoman stones and a modern tenant.David Berkowitz, CC BY 2.0 Cihangir
Over the ridge past Istiklal and down the far side into Cihangir: cafés, antique shops, steep steps, and a cat every ten metres. The park with the Bosphorus view is the place to end.
Cihangir side. A cat every ten metres is not an exaggeration.veritatem, CC BY 2.0
Same numbers as the list. Worth keeping open on your phone.
The cats you will meet
Istanbul street cats, the best-looked-after in the world: tabby, white, ginger and tortoiseshell, glossy on a diet of fish and doorstep bowls, and used to being a neighbour. Sociable at the stalls, asleep on the café chairs, and present on every step.
Fish stall cats
Under the counters at Karaköy.
Fed by the fishmongers. Working hours only.
Café cats
On the chairs around the tower and in Cihangir.
Order a tea and share the chair.
Cemetery cats
Among the tombstones of the lodge.
Quiet, well fed by the museum staff, and photogenic.
Everybody says The cats in the film were special.
Actually They were ordinary Galata cats, chosen because they had people who fed them and stories to tell. Every cat on this hill has both. The film could be remade on any street here tomorrow.
How not to be the annoying one
- Top up a bowl that exists. The household has a system.
- At the fish stalls, buy the sandwich and let the fishmonger feed the cat. He knows the portion.
- The lodge is a museum and a place of remembrance. Quiet among the stones.
- Cihangir’s steps are people’s front doors. Sit on the public ones.
- Never pick up a cat for a photograph. Istanbul cats come to you or they do not.
