Getting around Ottoman Istanbul

When the Ottomans grew leery and weary, they simply had a to call upon a carriage to carry them The streets of old Istanbul were often steep, narrow and winding and often stairs replaced the streets – unpaved, muddy in winter and dusty in summer. Only a very few of the widest streets, which followed flatter sections of the historic peninsula might have stone paving and these boulevards were used for ceremonial or religious parades. The Byzantine emperor who would take part in these parades apparently went on foot if the weather was good, but rode on horseback if not, according to Nevra Necipoğlu in “Byzantine Constantinople.”

The Byzantines, however, would have had chariots and palanquins (or sedan chairs, litters), means of transportation among the ancient Romans they had inherited. Transporting goods within the city would have continued to have been by camel, mule or horse and possibly cart and oxen. Where the streets were too narrow or steep, human porters would have been hired to move items.

Nothing much would have changed in the centuries leading up to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, although chariots were long gone. Men rode horses, but women likely were transported in carts – not the rough, wooden kind used for goods, but painted and decorated in ways that suited the occupants’ station with a covering that could keep out rain and sunshine. In fact, women were forbidden to ride horseback. Women could also use palanquins or sedan chairs, but would have to be escorted. We have no reason to believe the Turks, and especially the Ottomans, still relied on the horse-drawn wagons which they had used during their nomadic years coming from Central Asia.

At the...