Istanbul cruise
 
 
 
“Dear passengers, the article you are reading now is the story of Istanbul ferries ranging from the Administration of Hazine-i Hassa Ferries to Şirket-i Hayriye, from City Lines Business to IDO."

"Is it just a story? No! Also, it is a very important value in most Istanbulites’ lives. That is not all! Also…”

I am sure that the generation whose age is about 30 has read the spot above with a smile. About twenty years before, in other words during the years when Conventional Ferry Lines had not been handed over to IDO yet, street peddlers were the indispensable elements of Istanbul ferries. They were coming onto the stage one or two minutes after the ferry had departed and they were continuing their shows until the ferry berthed. Their utterances were never left unfinished; there was never a time they could not have time left to sale. Their timing was always perfect. They were introducing themselves by saying “dear passengers”, and they were telling how the tiny products that they got out off their bags were going to make up for the significant lack in our lives after they wished a good trip. And we understood.

Then, they were continuing with the episode of “giveaways”. Undoubtedly, they were taking out one box of crayons in order to make the children at home happy, pencils which the students love, with lights-on while writing and in general kitchen accessories which would make the housewives smile. Each time the roaring “that is not all” was heard. And it did not end… In the meantime, if the ferry you got on was heading towards the Prince Islands or Yalova, you were hearing the laughter of a group who set a table with drinks and mezes, who exhilarated their chats with the waves and you witnessed the university students who only saw each other on the ferry were playing a card game in high spirits. There was a notion of “ferry mate” in people’s lives with whom the chat was going to go on from where it was left in the next cruise…

Cola, Fanta, Ayran, Soda water…
In spite of all the objections of the mothers, any kind of food and drink that was sold on the ferry was very delicious for the children. I think the shouts of the countermen such as “cola, fanta, airan, soda water…” had a great contribution to this. Options were not limited with those things. Maybe it was a cup of Kanlıca yoghurt with castor sugar on top, maybe alcoholic beverages… About fifty years ago, the people who wanted to raise their glasses to Istanbul waves were served alcoholic beverages which were a special service only in the ferries of Paşabahçe, Fenerbahçe and Dolmabahçe.

If we go back to earlier years, we see that the ferry cruises were one of the indicators of Istanbulites’ economical situation. Namely, the back part of the ferry belonged to the First Degree; the point belonged to the Second Degree and the hindmost part to the Luxurious Degree. But, this ended in 1960s. What remain from the years that I remember is the ground floors that are not used now. The ground floors which were an ideal space for the exhausted people after work,  to have a warm, silent and comfortable sleep were mysterious playgrounds that we could not even approach its stairs. In summary, they were the years during which the playgrounds in fast ferries of IDO were not known yet, the child who could come closer to the stairs of the ground floor in the ferries was announced as “the bravest”, and the play “who is braver?” was played with excitement. The years during which we did not know that our toy has a 170-year Istanbul value…

From the Administration of Hazine-i Hassa Ferries to Şirket-i Hayriye
After the administrative reforms, the development in the economy of the Ottoman Empire caused the population to reside in both sides of the city. Formerly, the paddle-boats that came and went between the two sides of the city left their places to the ferries which were brought by the Russian and English shipping agencies in 1837. Since the Administration of Hazine-i Hassa Ferries, which was the authorized sea travel institution of the period, started the ferry cruises in the Bosphorus and the ferries were two times faster than the paddle-boats, they became indispensable for the Istanbulites. The Administration of Hazine-i Hassa Ferries took the name of “Fevaidi Osmaniye” in1843. However, since there were not suitable landing places for the ferries to come alongside, the paddle-boats were used in order to carry passengers to the ferries that were waiting in the open sea. With the twenty ferries that Fevaidi Osmaniye took over, it arranged cruises from the Bosphorus to Samsun, Varna, Salonica and Trabzon, and it competed with foreign vessels in the Bosphorus with its ferry called Hümapervaz.

When we come to the year 1851, the first incorporated company of the Ottoman Empire, Şirket-i Hayriye, was established. The ferries were preferred by the Istanbulites who surged into the popular excursion spots especially during summer. With the establishment of the company, 6 ferries which had sixty horsepower, could go 6 miles/hour, a steam vessel with wood bottom were brought from England. At the same time, these six ferries were the beginning of the tradition of numbering in ferries. 1 Rumeli, 2 Tarabya, 3 Göksu, 4 Beylerbeyi, 5 Tophane, 6 Beşiktaş. Şirketi-i Hayriye arranged its first ferry cruise to Üsküdar in 1852. After that, the number of the routes was increased; expeditions were arranged even to İzmit and Tekirdağ. In the meantime, screw steamers with wide gallery had placed steam vessels.

Şirket-i Hayriye was transferred to Ministry of Transport in 1944. Having been used for a long time, the ferries left their places to more modern and comfortable ferries in time.

The course of City Lines Business to IDO
Until 2005, the shipping services were under the management of Conventional Lines. When we come to 2005, the shipping services were handed over to Istanbul Sea buses Industry and Trade Incorporation (IDO) which has brought the notion of sea bus to Istanbul. Today, IDO which is the biggest vehicle and passenger transportation company in the world with its eighty two ferries and eighty tree landing places, renders service to Istanbulites with twenty five sea buses, eight fast ferry boat, sixteen car ferries, thirty two city lines passenger ferries and Mavi Marmara passenger ferry in thirty three lines.

I do not think that a transportation vehicle is going to have such an important place in the memories of people in no geography of the world. If you are in Istanbul, take a Bosphorus tour with a ferry, go to the Prince  Islands or take part in the Moonlight Tours with Barış Manço ferry. Get the pleasure of the ferries that adorn Istanbul shores with the tea that you are drinking. By all means, throw pieces of simit to sea gulls who are the friends of ferries. They will be your “ferry mate” during this cruise. Watch Istanbul from waters of the Bosphorus.

In İstanbul Issue 6
An article by: Behice Özden