There are many monuments to animals in the world that have earned the recognition of people by doing brave deeds or serving science. But there is also a beast, immortalized in bronze simply because it exists and touches the owners and, in general, everyone around. It was for this that she received a personal monument in the Istanbul Ziverbey district to a simple mongrel cat Tombili.

There are a lot of cats in Istanbul and the attitude to these cute animals is special here. In order to stand out from the tens of thousands of your fellows, you need to be special. That was exactly what Tombili was - a plump tabby cat with a white belly.

Tombili became famous thanks to the fact that he went out on the street every day and, lounging like a real Turkish Pasha, took a relaxed position on the sidewalk, gracefully leaning against the parapet. At first, the cat's pose aroused the delight of the inhabitants of Gulech Lane, then the whole Ziverbey found out about it, and when someone guessed to upload a photo of the animal to the network, world fame came to Tombili. The furry Ziverbey symbol has become a popular Internet meme known to users as the "cool cat". Tombili's pose is played up by pranksters in different ways - with the help of Photoshop, he is dressed in a Roman toga, seated on a sofa, behind a bar, handed a cocktail in his paw, or a hookah is placed next to him. It is impossible to list all the images that a cat can awaken in the observer.

Alas, but, with rare exceptions, the cat's age is short-lived and in August 2016 Gulech Lane lost its imposing mascot. The grateful townspeople did not accept this and decided to perpetuate the memory of Tombili, who glorified the area throughout the world. In honor of the International Day of Animals, the mayor of the district ordered the installation of a bronze monument to the cat in his favorite place in a characteristic pose.

The small life-size monument of Tombili has become a local tourist attraction. The cat monument was even stolen, however, the attackers were so frightened by the resonance of their act that they soon threw the figure back.

So a plump bronze cat sits, watching the street life and thinking about something of its own, in a picturesque Istanbul alley, right at the feet of bustling passers-by.