An Istanbul Tram

An Istanbul tram waits at the end of Istiklal Cadessi in the 1930s. This is the City's main shopping street and the photograph is taken at the point where it meets Taksim, Istanbul's great central square. 

Istanbul once operated a huge tramway system which by 1966 had been abandoned. The route along Istiklal Cadessi was revived in 1990 when the street was pedestrianised. It operates restored trams between Taksim and Tunel Square along a 1.5km track.  

Large American cars were once a common sight in Istanbul. Turkey did not have a car industry until 1966 and many vehicles were imported from the USA. In the late 1980s it was still easy to take a ride in a big 1950s Chevrolet or Chrysler as fleets of these were still used as shared taxis