Photo Friday: Hagia Sofia Cat

I'd like to pretend that my kids were appropriately impressed with the thousand year old mosaics at Hagia Sofia. They weren't. What really caught their interest was this cat, who was warming itself in the spotlights.

So there we sat, in front of some fabulous mosiacs, with me explaining that lights generate heat, and that cats like to be warm. It's a good reminder that you, as the parent, don't get to choose what's going to be interesting - but you do get to choose whether you take a moment to enjoy and understand whatever you happen to find on your trip.

Related Links:
City Guide: Istanbul with Kids
Arriving in Istanbul
Hagia Sofia with Kids

Photo Friday:
Share a favorite travel photo by participating in Photo Friday. Please make sure that you link to your post directly so that I don't delete it by mistake. If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly

First timers, here is more Information about Photo Friday

Filed Under: photo-friday

11 comments | Posted on May 6, 2010 | Save to del.icio.us

 Subscribe to our feed

Subscribe by email:

Comments

  1. Sophie on May 7, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.

    Love that photo - and love cats. They're amazingly photogenic, aren't they.

    For my contribution to the series, this week I'll link to one of my cat posts :)

  2. kerry dexter on May 7, 2010 at 6:30 a.m.

    nice shot of the contemplative cat, fine story to go along. thanks.

  3. Mara Gorman on May 7, 2010 at 7:01 a.m.

    Amen to that - my children are always surprising me (and humbling me) by what they see when we go somewhere. I remember when I took them to Sainte- Chapelle in Paris. As always, and like everyone else, I was completely focused on the stained glass windows. But Teddy spent the entire time looking for the pictures of animals that are inlaid in the floor. Pretty soon Tommy and I were hunting with him. We were the only people walking around looking *down*.

    I like the photo!

  4. Lucia on May 7, 2010 at 7:57 a.m.

    I love this post because of how you stopped, listened, and talked with your kids about what they were interested in. It is one of those special (and at times, funny) things about traveling with kids. Happy Mother's Day!

  5. amida on May 7, 2010 at 8:14 a.m.

    Many times, it's the little things that catch their interests. One time we visited a historic farm and the thing that stands out most about that trip was the crushed ladybug we found on the road!

  6. dining table on May 8, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.

    I like the photo! I find cats photogenic! They look good in photos in whatever angle.

  7. Randy @thelollipoproad on May 11, 2010 at 7:05 a.m.

    So true...kids notice things that we take for granted.

  8. Mike on October 17, 2010 at 9:40 p.m.

    I saw the very same cat back in 2008. I recently saw a posting on Dr. Jerry Coyne's blog "Why Evolution is True" showing the same cat from his recent trip to Istanbul.

    Fellow seems to be famous.

    http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.c...

  9. Debbie on October 18, 2010 at 8:28 a.m.

    Hilarious ;) I guess there's just something about seeing a living creature (besides tourists and staff) in one of these huge old buildings!

  10. Susan Kane on January 13, 2011 at 4:09 p.m.

    The photo was awesome, and so appropriate. we have traveled with our children and enjoyed what they saw vs. what we saw. Our travels with them as small children formed a view of the world they have carried with them into adulthood.

  11. Yani on December 20, 2012 at 11:54 p.m.

    Spooky! I think I saw that same cat this past Feb. too!