I assumed that cats were domesticated in ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C. until I worked as an anthropologist in southern Turkey and acquired two local cats. In 2002 I lived in an agricultural village on the Orontes River, two miles upstream from the Mediterranean and 20 miles downstream from Antioch. The village is known by its modern name Sutasi and its ancient name Sabouni. Black, brown tabby and white felines, many speckled with a mixture of these colors abound here.

Farmers and cats have always lived together here, says Karim, the village elder.

Cats nest near homes and lounge, play and hunt in yards and fields. When families gather for meals, cats wait at a respectful distance to be rewarded with treats for protecting crops. Sutasis cats looked and behaved like cats I saw during a trip to the coastal town of Gazimagusa on Cyprus in 1996. Their relationship became clear to me in the near future.

In late spring Sutasi gets hot and humid, so one afternoon I went to the nearby port of Cevlik to cool off by the Mediterranean. Cevlik was known in antiquity as Seleucia Pieria, founded by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Greats generals, in the early 300s B.C. When the region came under Roman rule in 43 B.C., Seleucia Pieria was the port for Antioch, the Empires third largest city. Cyprus is only 80 miles offshore. Archaeological evidence indicates that two centuries before Seleucia Pieria was established, Greek traders brought goods from Cyprus to Sabouni and up the Orontes to the settlement that would develop into Antioch.

**For the full article, pick up the June issue of CAT FANCY**