Why is Gli Cat of Hagia Sophia so famous?

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By Maria B

The famous Gli cat also referred to as the “Union of Love” is found around Hagia Sophia which is a historical milestone in Istanbul, Turkey for the last 15000 years, was changed to a gallery in 1934. It was recently changed to a mosque by President Tayyip Erdogan before this month.

Why is Gli Cat of Hagia Sophia so famous?


This cat called Gli is a grey patterned cat with adorable green eyes and royal attitude, seen in the surroundings of Hagia Sophia since 2009. Paleologist named Defne Bali who has worked for Hagia Sophia for quite a long time resembled a mother to Gli. Gli had one sibling, Pati and a sister, Kızım. Their mom was Sofi. They were conceived in 2004. Pati kicked the bucket, tragically. Bilgen Deveci, one of the restorers picked the name “Gri” (due to its Grey color) for Gli from the start. In any case, on account of its charm and crinkled eyes, its name became Gli. They picked the name “Kızım” for her sister. At the point when she was nearly nothing, Kızım went under one of the measures of Hagia Sophia and stuck there for some time. They spared her later but since she whimpered so much at that point, she got quiet for the following two years.

Sophia the cat got famous when a person named Umut Behceci just incidentally made a page featuring aesthetic shots of this cat on Instagram. His page named “hagiasophiacat” eventually got famous and has reached more than 65,000 followers due to the charm of Hagia Sophia and eye-catching clicks of the cat in and out of the place. Another interesting fact is that the famous Hagia Sophia cat has Barack Obama, as a fan too. The former U.S president was filmed caressing it during his visit to Turkey in 2009. Due to this very reason, most of the tourists that come to Hagia Sophia are eager to have a glimpse of this cat. Whereas, a bunch of people comes to Hagia Sophia just to see Gli.

Gli had just one little cat for her entire life. A lovely pure black she-feline named “Karakız” who had a mishap in light of a visit transport. She remained in a vet for some time for her crushed spirit. Be that as it may, we got no opportunity to take consideration of him at the historical center in light of then-supervisor who despises felines so we needed to put her rest.

In recent times, when President Tayyip Erdogan announced of Hagia Sophia is reopening as a mosque, an argument arose regarding what will be done to the cat Gli. Most people feared that now the cat won’t be seen anywhere and the discussions started circulating.

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In a response to the concerns regarding the cat Gli, Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for the President of Turkey, told the masses that cat will be allowed to stay, saying:

“The cat has become very famous, and there are others who haven’t become that famous yet. The cat will be there and all cats are welcome in the mosques.”

People believe that Gli was born in Hagia Sophia, hence, the new of the cat staying there in its home, despite any changes taking place.