30 May 2021, Eda:

Crossing between sides is also possible with the vessels on the water. In İstanbul they serve as a main public transport, usually connecting the Asian and European sides of the city (for some reason, link between two or more spots on the same side is rare). “Vapur”s, “motors” are the most common ones of these. Motors are usually operated by private initiatives and vapurs belonging to the Municipality.

A resemblance from the past: approximately until the end of 1910s, the vapurs of Istanbul used to have side wheels as the paddle steamers do here in Luzern, and they were called “yandan çarklı”. They also had names, like here in Luzern the paddle steamers that I’ve encountered have -Galia, Uri and Wilhelm Tell; the first versions of “yandan çarklı vapur”s had names of the coastal districts of İstanbul -Tarabya, Göksu, Beylerbeyi, Tophane, Beşiktaş, Bebek, Kandilli; and the later ones were named after some adjectives or proper nouns. They are chronologically as follows: Bahariye, Asayiş, Seyyar, Terakki, Sürat, Tayyar, Azimet, Rahat, Selamet, Meymenet, Nüzhet, Refet, Amed, Meserret, Nusret , Gayret, İşgüzar, Mirgün, İhsan, Şükran, Neveser, Rehber , Metanet, Resanet, İkdam, İntizam, Resan, Rüçhan, Hale, Seyyale.

In Luzern, besides the side wheeled steamers that reminded me of the old vapurs of İstanbul (which I’ve only seen in photographs of course!); one of the favored vessels on the water is the blue “pedalo”s that give the opportunity of a private roam in the lake, very much caught on with tourists. This is a composition of the Gallia paddle steamer and one pedalo of Luzern visiting the Kadıköy Harbour of Istanbul.

The information about the vapurs of İstanbul is taken from the web site of “Şehir Hatları”, and the archival photograph is from the İstanbul Research Institute. Present-day İstanbul photos are taken by Dilara, and Luzern photos are by Eda.