Felines rule the entirety of Türkiye. In some regions they are more numerous, in others fewer, yet their sovereignty remains unassailable. Moreover, the cats themselves are delightfully diverse:
- In Van, one encounters the celebrated, heterochromatic aficionados of swimming—exquisite and aristocratically refined.
- In Ephesus, they are relaxed patricians, accustomed to reclining at symposia and treating the entire archaeological site as their private latrine.
- In Istanbul, they are a veritable mafia sprung from alleyway roughs, inspiring genuine trepidation even among taxi drivers.
Divine Grace and Classical Roots
Now we have made the acquaintance of the felines inhabiting Bursa, the very first capital of the Ottomans. And it is here that an entirely new tier is unlocked.
Compared to all other Turkish cats, those of Bursa are veritable feline titans—as though they had descended directly from Mount Olympus-Uludağ. The ancient Greeks designated this mountain the Mysian or Bithynian Olympus, a locale where, according to legend, the gods observed the progress of the Trojan War. And upon beholding these powerful, broad-browed, and heavy-boned beasts, one is inclined to believe it: divine blood truly courses through their veins. Their movements lack the soft complaisance of a household pet; rather, they possess the precise grace of a hunting lion.
Interestingly, in Ancient Greek, one of the designations for a cat—ailouros—translates literally as ‘twirl-tail’. It is a wonderfully precise description of that specific independence wedded to grace: the tail serving as an indicator of mood rather than a token of submission.
The Eternal Masters of Bursa
The gaze of a Bursa cat is neither imploring nor demanding; it is one of condescending expectation. They are the true masters of this city, which appears to serve them with profound respect and deference. After all, dynasties rise and fall, but cats endure.
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