The Cats of Istanbul

Book excerpt: Have you ever wanted to travel the Kings Highway in Jordan and walk down the famous Siq Gorge to the ancient city of Petra? Or wanted to spend an Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem? Wondered how you would feel if stuck with a flat tyre in the middle of the Sudanese desert at sunrise? Or pondered about the Call to Prayer as it echoes repeatedly across Istanbul at sunset? Have you ever wondered how so many people live and survive in the Middle East without the rules and regulations of western building, working, and plumbing? Meet Shazam the Jordanian taxi driver, the boys in the Sea of Shoeshine, Mr Ali and his famous Green Door Pizza in Jerusalem, Russell from Noosa, and the Great Paperweights of Giza as you travel on a journey of adventure, mishaps, revelations, architectural wonders, and lack of plumbing, though Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. And dont forget the Cats of Istanbul, the Cairo Cat Shop, and Camel School and the Art of Haggling . In 1997, architect Mahalath Halperin, together with her colleague and his wife, Peter and Pauline Buckwell, spent four crazy weeks travelling by plane, train, and automobile throughout the Middle East on a journey to discover architecture, culture, and of course, plumbing. And they found lots of cats along the way. This is the story of that adventure.