Istanbul has hundreds of stray dogs and cats and I imagine they are not all like the ones we observed on our travels.  Usually strays are skittish, mangy and terribly thin.  These guys were certainly dusty and dirty but they were also fat and content.  Some time ago, cities in Turkey had a terrible problem with strays but as the population was against mass euthanasia, the government had to come up with another plan.  They decided to gather up the dogs, one neighborhood at a time, (not sure about the cats but they are certainly well fed and friendly), vaccinate, neuter and tag them, then put them back again.  In fact we only saw two puppies and they were living with a pack in a National Park in Cappadocia.  (Had we been closer to home and with a vehicle I'd probs be on the road to divorce right now with two scrappy adorable puppies in tow).  But back to the city and their big, some enormous, lazy street dogs.  They seem to have their territories and spend their days sleeping and being fed by locals and tourist alike.  There are pans of water around everywhere.  If it's a "cat area", (usually separate form a "dog area"), there will be dishes of cat food.  In residential areas we saw dog houses on the side walks for cold nights and once passed a large lab-like dog sleeping on a cushioned restaurant bench who'd been covered up to his tagged ear with a wool blanket.  Stray animals usually make me sad.  Who knew visiting Istanbul would leave me with happy memories of a big moose of a dog sleeping in the sun of Sultanhamet Square, too big to fit completely under the park bench he was aiming for, a half eaten kebap an inch from the end of his nose.  Whether he had fallen asleep partway through his meal or whether someone had left him their uneaten lunch I'll never know.  But the fact that he hadn't felt the need to wake up and scoff it down like any dog I've ever known made me very happy indeedy.  More later xxoo me

Sultanhamet Square - many lazy dogs snoozing in the grassy areas to the right