Although I am a dude, I am not afraid to admit that I like cats. Go ahead and judge me for this, but I refuse to apologize. Tunis is filled with cats - they run through the streets in small groups, emerging out of alleyways and crowding near warm buildings on cold nights. They fill an odd niche here, as they are basically what we in the States would term "strays," yet none of them seem to be haggard and beat-up like the stinky screaming creatures I would see in my Brooklyn backyard. Unlike their American counterparts, these cats seem to be simultaneously owned by no one and everyone.
While cats are ubiquitous in New York City bodegas, I was quite surprised to find them roaming restaurants here in Tunis. Most eateries keep their doors open during the day, and these confident Arab felines will simply stroll on in and sniff out the customer with the tastiest dish. I eat a lot of fish in Tunisia, so quite often this means I capture their attention while I dine. The cats are not timid, and will go straight up to you, trying to capture your attention from your right side, then your left. If you have yet to give in, it might spend a bit of time under your chair, contemplating the appropriate way to procure a bit of your meal. After a while, it will start to climb onto your lap, and you have to be pretty persistent before it finally gives up and tries someone else. They have a fairly good success rate of getting at least a bite of someone's dinner, and I imagine this is why the cats of Tunis don't seem terribly malnourished.
Last night was cold and rainy, and I came back to the hotel only to find a cat sitting elegantly on one of the chairs in the lobby. This is an extremely clean and well-kept hotel, and I was surprised they allowed one of these creatures of the street to hang out there. In awkward elementary school Arabic, I asked about the cat. The guy at the lobby matter of factly said "bard," meaning "cold." It was cold outside, so he let in the cat - why would I even bother asking?
These businesses don't seem to own the cats, and will from time to time shoo them out the door, but there ultimately seems to be a sense of responsibility for them. They are needy denizens of Tunis, and they could use a hand once in a while. My kind of town.
The garbage cats of Carthage.
Last night was cold and rainy, and I came back to the hotel only to find a cat sitting elegantly on one of the chairs in the lobby. This is an extremely clean and well-kept hotel, and I was surprised they allowed one of these creatures of the street to hang out there. In awkward elementary school Arabic, I asked about the cat. The guy at the lobby matter of factly said "bard," meaning "cold." It was cold outside, so he let in the cat - why would I even bother asking?
These businesses don't seem to own the cats, and will from time to time shoo them out the door, but there ultimately seems to be a sense of responsibility for them. They are needy denizens of Tunis, and they could use a hand once in a while. My kind of town.
Tristan, great blog! Can't wait to read more. How have the prayer times affected your exploration and travels? Did you get a sense of culture shock when you arrived or not so much? Keep up the great writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Prayer times don't really affect anything, except they can wake you up at 6:00 in the morning when you'd like to sleep in. Most people just keep doing their thing - it's a pretty secular town. There are definitely cultural differences, but Tunis is pretty urban and cosmopolitan. I honestly didn't feel a ton of culture shock here, but I think it would be different in the rural interiors of the country.
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