More Pictures at Istanbul Turkey
TUSLOG Det 29, 1967-1969
 Colonel John E. Perez,  USAF (Ret)  ©2000 
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The Bosphorus -- separating European Turkey from Asian Turkey
is the home for many types of watercraft


From sedate ferries which crisscross the straits as waterborne buses...

To aging ocean going tramp steamers
Sirkeci Station is Istanbul's European side railroad terminal. The eastern terminus for the famed Orient Express, the station had, even in the late 1960s, seen better days.  Passengers continuing by rail to Ankara would take a ferry to the Haydar Pasa terminal on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.

Note the parking fee of 1 Turkish Lira and 50 kurus. Back then a lira was worth about ten cents. Today (3-2000), a million lira are worth a bit less than two US dollars.

Other modes of transportation included the Dolmus shared taxi cab  which would run along a fixed route - somewhat like a city bus.
While minivans are in use today, back in the late 1960s the vintage vehicle shown to the left must have been prized for its interior jump seats. 

Every Turkish taxi had a meter installed on the exterior right fender. 
They were supposed to work -- but I never saw one in use. 
Fares were arrived at in advance by bargaining.

Masallah wasn't the manufacturer of this truck 
which is actually a Czechoslovakian Skoda. 
Masallah means "May God's, Allah's, blessings be on you"
and is a common decoration on trucks and buses.

Shopping -- and bargaining -- are both pleasures and arts in Turkey. 
In Istanbul the major shopping areas were the Grand Bazaar 
with its hundreds of individual vendors...
or for more modern -- in a 1930s sort of way -- shopping you could go to Istiklal Caddesi -- Istanbul's most elegant boulevard stretching from Tunel to Taksim Square. 
Today Istanbul has many malls and shopping centers which are on a par with those in major US and European cities. But bargaining is still practiced.

The usual postcard view of Istanbul reinforces the erroneous impression 
that the city enjoys a warm weather throughout the year.

In fact Istanbul has four distinct seasons and snow is common 
during the winter months -- as this photo of Topkapi Palace proves.

What former member of TUSLOG could forget the joy 
of using a bomb sight toilet!
And what veteran of TUSLOG Det 29 in Istanbul could forget the Puro-Fay soap factory!
Located directly across the street from the Fargo Building (which housed the BX, Commissary, Chapel, library, O Club, BOQ and Personnel Services) the factory was surmounted by a revolving globe endlessly flashing the words Puro Fay. On certain days the fumes from the factory were overpowering -- like chewing on soap!

And finally ... what I wouldn't give to be able to turn back the calendar to 1967 and return to Istanbul to when I was a young (23) captain, with a new car, a full head of hair and a whole lifetime to look forward to.
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American Military in Turkey