Tombili - Istanbul, Turkey

Tombili's statue and plaque in Istanbul. Huriyet Daily News Photo

The original photo that attracted attention on Buzzfeed. 

Tombili was a fat cat whose carefree and laid back countenance made her much beloved in her Istanbul neighborhood, Güleç Street in Kadıköy. Her name reflected her attitude, Tombili is a common nickname for an overweight pet; to my understanding the best English translation might be something like pot-belly. She often ignored those who wanted to play with her in favor of lounging on step.

In 2012 a tourist snapped a photo of Tombilli and posted it on social media. The oldest link I could find is this Buzzfeed post. Tombili became an international sensation thanks to another post on 9gag, and photoshoping contest based on the photo, The lounging cat charmed viewers around the world. The internet generated memes from the photo and Tombili's moment of fame was extended until she passed away. Here are some of my favorites, More can be found on Know Your Meme.



On August 2, 2016, a sign appeared on Güleç Street announcing the cat's death and stating "You will live in our hearts. Mascot of our street, beloved TOMBILI lost her struggle for life after a month and closed her eyes to life on first of August"

This poster announced Tombili's death. Huriyet Daily News photo

Anadolu Kedisi  of the Anatolian cat project started a Change.org petition, which broadly demanded  that a sculptor make the memorial to internet-famous cat. Over 17,000 supported the petition. The city's Mayor agreed and within days an artist was chosen.The statue was inaugurated on World Animal day, Oct. 4 2016. Sculptor Seval Şahin spent time talking to the residents of the street and then crafted a bronze portraying Tombili in her famous pose. The memorial was unveiled at mid-day. with the city's the Deputy mayor attending. Mirroring the memes that Tombili stared in, the statue is often posed with a cup of coffee, tea, or the local alcohol, raki. The statue has become a feeding station for stray cats; locals and tourists alike leave cat food for Tombili and her living friends clean up any she doesn't eat.

Sculptor Seval Şahin poses with her creation. Photo from Seval Şahin's Facebook.

The plaque visible at the bottom of the photo is outlined with playing cats. It reads, roughly translated:
"The late social media star, Tombili posing on the edge of the sidewalk. When Tombili died, on August 1, 2016 fans demanded she be immortalized by collecting tens of thousands of signatures on a virtual campaign site. Thank you to volunteer sculptor Seval Sahin and all the friends of animals who contributed to Tombili's memorial."

Street cats have a special place in Turkey where they are commonly cared for as a community effort that includes feeding stations on many streets. The city's population is primarily Muslim, and Islam has a preference for cats (which are considered useful) over dogs (considered unclean). I'm no expert on religion, but my understanding is that Mohammed is said to have disliked canines. Meanwhile, according to legend his disciple Abu Hurairah  was so enchanted with felines he once cut the sleeve off his robe so he could attend prayers without disturbing his sleeping cat. (This story may be anachronistic, but it still shows the acceptance of cats in early Islam). Since Mohammed allegedly petted this cat, and because of their reputation as fastidious groomers, cats are considered clean (halal). Some Islamic traditions forbid the sale of pets, instead treating cats more like servants.

 Another photo of Tombili relaxing on a curb. Daily Mail photo

Tombili's statue went missing within in month of
installation. Huriyet Daily News Photo

On Nov 8, after only a month sitting on its step, the Tombili statue disappeared. A local noted its appearance on social media, which flew into a collective rage. Locals, politicians and even the nearby Russian Embassy demanded that the thief return the beloved statue. A Republican People's Party MP tweeted "They stole the Tombili statue. They are enemies of everything beautiful. All they know is hate, tears and war. They can't live without those,." Within the week Tombili's memorial had been replaced.

Tombili's memorial touches on something that is very specific to a location, the street cats of Istanbul. But Tombili was a new kind of celebrity, the subject of a meme. Her international fame came from a single image that users edited to express something new. The memorial itself was called for in an internet forum and presumably supported by her fan far from the memorial site. Then when Tombili's memorial disappeared, it was power of social media condemnations that apparently shamed the thief into returning it.

Author's Note: I referred to Tombili as a a female in this article although many sources treat the cat as male. While it is difficult to tell in the pictures I was swayed by a Huffpost article that discussed the cat's gender and decided it was a female. I was further convinces by the tendency of some English-speaking Turkish sources to refer to the sculptor as "he," suggesting an issue with gender in the translation.

Sources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tombili-istanbul-cat-and-worldwide-meme-honoured-with-statue-a7344671.html
https://www.thecut.com/2016/10/tombili-the-cat-immortalized-in-new-statue.html
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sculpture-of-cat-phenomenon-tombili-inaugurated-in-istanbul-104579
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-37937351
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sculpture-of-iconic-istanbul-cat-tombili-stolen-105861
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tombili-cat-statue-istanbul_us_57f3cc84e4b0d0e1a9a9d362

Check these videos to see the statue better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q-2PtATPBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNkNu-Ghs5I

For more information on cats in Istanbul or cats and Islam check these links:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-istanbul-should-be-called-catstantinople-1439942244
http://islam.ru/en/content/story/love-and-importance-cats-islam