In Turkish on this picture: ‘Love means sharing. With a cup of food and water, you can fill the stomach of a street animal. Signed by the volunteers of goodness”

The way people care for cats and dogs in their streets is a sign of deeper values, I wrote in earlier blogs Street cats in Northern Cyprus, Street cats in Adana and Street cats in Istanbul. In Famagusta / Gazi Magusa on Turkish Cyprus, dogs and cats are not always taken well care of but they are usually at ease.

Especially the street dogs in Famagusta are friendly, welcoming visitors and keeping them company while they climb the century old walls that the Crusaders under the rule of the Lusignan Kingdom built around old Famagusta. You’d take the lovely dog home with you immediately, if you could. People tend to warn you for the stray dogs, telling you they will bite but it is unclear where this fear comes from.
Most inhabitants of Famagusta are kind with the street dogs and cats. We just saw one incident when four Iranian students wanted to enter a restaurant where a stray dog was lying on the doorstep and one of them made a point about it. However, the personnel didn’t give any reaction to the comments made – maybe because it was in Farsi and they didn’t get the point of the problem – and the three other students convinced the fourth one to get over it; which he litterally did. This shows how great the influence of others can be, and that you can also make a difference! In general street dogs in Famagusta were given a  home, or food at restaurants: see these pictures:
     
Love means sharing, as the picture above tells those who pass by on different corners of Famagusta. Apparently since a short time, local governments are obliged to care for street animals. Not all of them are doing it yet, but it is a start. The friendliness of Famagusta is a good start!