Horses, like cars, are allowed in contemporary Istanbul. Photo “on the bosphorus bridge” by saragoldsmith on flickr.

Historically, Istanbul - once known as Constantinople - was a pedestrian city, a far cry from what it has become with its streets (and even its sidewalks!) clogged with cars. Animals, including horses (one of the main modes of transport back then) were not allowed within city borders in order to keep disease at bay and ensure food security. Keeping horses out was, in short, a way of regulating transportation in order to promote the health and well-being of Istanbul’s residents. The only person allowed to ride a horse in the city was the Sultan himself, and later on some of the higher-ups in his service.

In fact, the regulation was so effective and so important to the city that exceptions were rarely made. Ilhan Tekeli, an urban planner and historian at Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara, told me the following story to highlight this point:

An old man made a sword for Sultan Mahmud, II. The Sultan was so impressed by the beauty and craft of this sword that he wanted to reward the man. He asked the man what his wish was and the old man replied: “I am an old man, there is no strength in my legs, I can hardly walk. Allow me to ride a horse from my house to my shop.”

So the Sultan ordered his men: “Build this man a new house next to his shop.”

This is how committed the Sultan was to to keeping the city pedestrian friendly. His solution to the dilemma is also an early example of the ideal scenario urban planners advocate: live close to your work!
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Ferry-boats in the Bosphorous (left) by Kıvanç and traffic on one of Istanbul’s freeways (right) by Roderick Maclean on flickr

Aziz Nesin was a wonderful and prolific Turkish writer, humorist and social/political commentator. I just read a 1992 interview with him where the talks about transportation in Istanbul, the old ferryboats and trams, their specific traditions and his dislike of the motor-car.

He talks about the old Istanbul ferry-boats, where the passengers knew each other and formed a special community. Every passenger had a seat. “Don’t sit there,” someone would say, “That’s Mr. Hasan’s seat.”

“But today’s Thursday,” the other would answer, “Mr. Hasan doesn’t go down to town today.”

And then there was the extraordinary world of the trams…

Aziz Nesin says when they first started making cars in Turkey he thought “What are they making cars for, who’s going to buy them?” He himself continued to use buses throughout his life despite his success and fame. Eventually he resigned to a farmhouse outside of Istanbul to live in the school/home he founded for homeless children.

Here is a joke from that interview, which I thought was pretty great:

A man jumps into a taxi, he’s in a great hurry, but the road’s jammed with traffic. “Hey!” he shouts to the driver, “Can’t you go a bit faster?” The driver looks back at him out of the corner of his eye. “Of course we can go faster,” he says, “But what are we going to do about the car?”

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