“My mom told me that every other day [the woman] gathers stray animals around and feeds them,” İlter said.

Ah, of course. That’ll do it!

Still, plenty of people feed animals without being able to lead them around the streets.

“The scene was so poetic,” İlter said. “I was amazed how beautiful what she was doing for these animals.”

This isn’t the kind of hobby one just gives up, so when İlter returned to stay with her mother again a year later, she got another glimpse of the woman and her band of furry friends.

In the meantime, her mother had tried to approach the woman and strike up a conversation, but it appears she preferred the company of non-humans. (We totally understand!)

“My mom found her and talked to her but she was too shy to talk,” said İlter.

And while a full-on animal parade led by a human isn’t a common sight, the country does have a tendency to feed and care for street animals.

İlter confirmed:

“The streets are full of food left out for animals. It’s pretty common in Turkey actually. Everybody loves stray animals here.”

And that seems to be true. In fact, when the country was in the midst of its COVID-19 peak infection rate, citizens were concerned about who would feed the street animals when people were asked to stay inside.

In Istanbul alone, there were roughly 162,970 stray cats and 128,900 dogs in 2018. Fed by animal-lovers and activists that were now staying home to avoid spreading the virus, the central government actually ordered local councils to care for street animals around the nation!

They were told to “bring food and water to animal shelters, parks, gardens, and other areas where animals are found”.

The ministry said that “all necessary measures must be taken to ensure stray animals don’t go hungry.”

Istanbul’s Bayrampasa district even tweeted a message with photos of animals being cared for on April 5th.

It read, in part:

“We are with our dear friends on the street with whom we share life. Our Veterinary Affairs Directorate continues to provide daily water, food, and cleaning care.”

It sounds like İlter was right – Turkey really does care for its strays!

Be sure to scroll down below for the two videos she took of the stranger’s animal “parades” a year apart.