There is so much archeological evidence of the importance of cats in various cultures. The most common association of cats to the ancient world is the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, who took the form of a cat head with a human body. The goddess represented fertility.
The lesser-known association of cats is to the Moroccan and Islamic cultures. Twitter user Bayt Al Fann (@BaytAlFann) created an explainer thread on this topic, in celebration of #Caturday last August 27.
As cats are admired for their cleanliness, Muslim cultures consider cats to be the quintessential pet and let them freely into their homes, or even mosques. That is considered to be a high honor as mosques are very sacred spaces to Muslims.
Al Fann noted that beneath the Rif Mountains of Western Morocco is the city of Chefchaouen, home to strikingly blue ancient structures, and a lot of stray cats.
He has placed a whole gallery of photos on the thread, where cats pose next to remarkably Moroccan architecture, including the famous Zellige tiles. Zellige tiles are handcrafted tiles that vary in tone, shine, flatness, and depth of the glazing.
Al Fann’s page on this topic contains even more photos of cats in various Moroccan setpieces, and they’re definitely worth a look!