ABSTRACT
Greater Istanbul lies at the crossroads of some of the world’s most important maritime routes. The expansion of the town from the intra muros triangle to the suburbs at the northern end of the Golden Horn, on the European and Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, and along the coast of the Sea of Marmara turned sea transport into an economic tool of paramount importance. A freight and passenger ferry service between the city’s various centres was essential for its socioeconomic functioning.1 The abundance of fish that until recently thrived in these seas also constituted an important source of fresh food for the city’s inhabitants. In this context, it is easy to see why the occupations of ferrymen and fishermen were so important. Scholarly attention has been drawn mainly to sea transport,2 and the everyday life and work of the hard-working people, either Muslim or non-Muslim, who belonged to these professions is almost a terra incognita.
