Istanbul’s boats

Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar, in his work Boğaziçi Yalıları, describes the characteristics of Istanbul boats, which he finds more useful, braver, lighter and more elegant than Venetian gondolas, and says that they are a summary of Bosphorus civilization. Istanbul’s boats had a special place in the culture of Bosphorus life, which was traced until the 21st century, and most of them were orange in color. Between a pair of gilded stripes on the sides, they were painted the color of the water.

What gondolas were toV enice in daily life, boats had the same meaning for Istanbul. These boats, unique to Istanbul, were works of Ottoman art and their main function was to cover distances quickly with their light hulls. Narrow and long, tapering at both ends and able to fight against opposing currents, their structures were shaped according to this need.

Two or three planks, decorated with carvings, divided the boat from the inside, protecting the hull from the pressure of the water. The center of gravity of the balance-sensitive boats was in the middle, thus establishing balance. This made it difficult to get on and off. In 1864, Pierre de Tchihatchef wrote: “Unfortunately, these light boats, in which the passenger can maintain his balance only by standing completely still, turn into a very uncomfortable and even dangerous means of transportation in a turbulent sea, which is frequent in the Bosphorus. For this reason, when a foreign ambassador organized a European-style night every forty years, if the sea conditions did not permit it, at the last minute the women would not attend and the men would be left without a dame in many balls.”

In the Ottoman Empire, the number of oars for boats was determined by a regulation. Ten pairs of oars were given to high-ranking civil servants, eight pairs of oars to qadi, the chief physician and other officials, and three pairs of oars to Sanjak beys. The number of oars indicated the social status of the owner, and the ornamentation indicated the skill of the painter. II. Until the end of the reign of Abdülhamit II (1876-1909), women were forbidden to board boats with men. After the 18th century, as the city spread to the shores of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn, the importance of boats in daily life increased. The boats on the waterways connecting villages and coasts began to be called by different names according to their shape, size, and function.

The boat called Piyade was considered the luxury sea taxi of its time, with one or two pairs of oars and made of linden wood, which was very light. The interior of the boat and the oars were not painted, but a 5-8 cm wide sash of the desired color was drawn on the side. The wooden parts, which were left in their natural state, were constantly sanded and maintained with the thick skin of a monkfish. A kind of varnish was applied to the parts of the infantry in contact with the sea. In the 18th century, by order of the port administration, a plate was attached to the heads of the infantrymen, and the number was written with the pier they were tied to. The plates were green for the boats on the Rumelia coast and red for those in Anatolia.

In these boats, where they sat crouching and slightly reclining at the waterline, there were carpets and pillows on the floor. The boat owner might be accompanied by servants such as umbrella holders and coffee makers. These umbrellas, which were used to protect from the sun, had to be closed as a sign of respect when passing in front of the palace or when the boat of a member of the court passed by.

Dolmush boats, called pereme, were commercial boats carrying passengers and cargo. They differed from other boats in both form and function and had at most six pairs of oars. Its nose was upturned and flat, wider and shorter than the infantry. Since their speed 17 capacity was limited, they were equipped with sails.

When Ahmet Vefik Pasha was criticized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for building a carriage identical to Napoléon III’s carriage while he was ambassador to France, the pasha refused the request, saying, “Let your ambassador in Istanbul give up his boat, which looks like a sultan’s boat, and I will change it”. These boats, called ambassador boats, were also ornaments of the Bosphorus. They differed from infantry boats in the number of oars and decorations, indicating the social status of the owner. Embassy boats were painted in the color of the flag of the country they represented, and the vests of the rowers were chosen from the same color.

Many vendor boats would pass in front of the mansions on the Bosphorus, and the boatmen would announce the products they were selling by shouting. These 13 meter long boats were called market boats. Market boats connected the villages on the Bosphorus and the neighborhoods on the Golden Horn with the bazaar and market products in Istanbul. Even the smallest pier on the Bosphorus and Golden Horn would have a market boat. On the long and flat deck, saz players would sit and trays of food and drink would be placed.

The Alamana was a fishing boat with two ends curved upwards like a hook and eight pairs of oars. Its upturned beak nose was designed to easily break and beat the waves at the exit of the Bosphorus. Their boards were embroidered with a one-foot wide belt extending from bow to stern.

The rudder was steered with oars from the bow or stern of the boat during net throwing and gathering maneuvers. Some of them had a mast with a seat on top, and a watchman would keep an eye on the influx of fish. These boats were usually built in Heybeliada in the 1800s. These narrow, long island-built boats with the bow and stern raised like a bow had a wide gun18 wale on the stern where nets could be easily spread. As they were resistant to heavy waves, they could even go out into the Black Sea.

Boats specially built to meet Istanbul’s need for firewood were also resistant to raging waters. There were also ice boats to cool the drinks produced according to need and to protect the food from spoilage. These boats were specially designed to transport snow and ice from the high mountains close to Istanbul. Another type of boat with a special function working between the two shores were horse transport boats with ramps at the bow and stern.

These boats, which were used for centuries, enabled people to live according to the conditions set by nature and without moving away from it. As the dense population of the settlements and business centers in Galata and the Golden Horn reached the center by sea, boats became an integral part of daily life in the years when bridges and services were infrequent.

Göksu Creek, described by a traveler who came to Istanbul in the 18th century as “bright as crystal, reflecting the deep blue sky”, was also famous for its boat rides. Those who sat on the cushions in the boats would watch the surroundings, listen to the nightingales, and peek out of the corner of their eyes at those in other boats. The people of the city, whose lives were intertwined with the sea, would reach the villages in the interior by using the rivers. These waters would also turn the mills, and occasionally they would become waterfalls. Unplanned urbanization and environmental pollution destroyed these streams over time. Even Kağıthane Creek, about which poems were written and songs composed, survived only until the 1940s. As people preferred to save time and live on land, the Bosphorus lost its character as a waterway, and Istanbul’s boats were replaced by public transportation ships and suspension bridges.