“How’s that?”

“Nobody’s papers are in order in the Republic of Istanbul. There’s always something missed. Some bureaucratic detail. There’s always an irregularity. You can rely on that. But yours are all in order. You arrived several days ago, you are registered at the Pera Palace, where you spend much of the day in your rooms—which is strange. You should get out more. So much to see! But perhaps you are here on business.”

“Not exactly,” Rustem said. “Just … a little time away. I’m working on a project. I needed space.”

“Understandable. The Pera Palace is a good place to get such a thing, if one’s finances are in order.”

“They are.”

“I know.”

“I suppose,” Rustem said, “I don’t know why I am here. Or where ‘here’ is.”

“No, you don’t. Drink your tea—it’s cool enough now.”

Rustem did as he was told, feeling its warmth move through him like an antidote to everything else, closing his eyes for a moment in gratitude.

When he opened them, the man said, “Do you know of the Ottoman Animal Protection Foundations?”

It had come from nowhere. Rustem shook his head. “I am afraid I do not.”

“Ah. Well—as a foreigner here, I suppose you might not. You have seen, though, the many stray cats and dogs in our city.”

“I have.”

“And wondered about them?”

“I suppose.”

“They are old Istanbulites. Some of the oldest, and caring for them has been a tradition for longer than anyone can remember. And not only these animals: The Ottomans established foundations which fed street dogs and wolves in the mountains, provided water for birds on hot summer days, treated storks with broken wings, or cared for injured horses. They also built birdhouses in the courtyards of mosques, madrassas, and palaces, and placed watering bowls on gravestones for birds.

“In the Ottoman archives, there are many records of such foundations: Müreselli İbrahim Ağa of İzmir donated one hundred kuruş annually to the Ödemiş Yeni Mosque for fostering storks around the mosque in 1307. In 1544, Lütfi Pasha granted a fountain, a watering hole, and pool for travelers and their animals that passed through the district of Tire in İzmir. Those are just a few. Some still exist. There is the Kediler Mosque in Damascus, which is a foundation established for street kittens. The caretaker of the mosque feeds hundreds of kittens there. That was founded by the Ottomans. In that same city the area from Marjeh Square to Mezzeh, including the University of Damascus and the Damascus Fair, belonged to a foundation for sheltering old or injured horses. Instead of shooting them or leaving them for dead, their owners left the animals there for professional care.

“The House for Injured Storks in Bursa was established for storks whose wings were broken. They were cared for and cured, then set free.”

He paused. “Another tea?”