underneath everything inside Engine roombelow the waterline, the roar of engines, not the heat and the window, Nurettin is jealous. It’s unfair, she says, laughing, because she the heart of this shipor better yet, the cardiologist who keeps it up and running, but the hero always Captainabove.
“I’m the most important person on this ferry. I’m checking inside. But the captain gets all the credit, even if he just uses the rudder. Right, left and some more,” Nurettin complains loudly. If he had done it in a lower voice, the hum of the engines would have replaced his words.
Nurettin is a ship’s cardiologist and ship’s doctor and has been his patient for five years. ‘Conqueror’one of dozens of ferries that swarm like ants following their marked course Bosphorusdividing the city of Istanbul into two. You need to study: a city of 17 million inhabitants, roads, subways and buses are not enough for everyone to get to work. Some – the lucky ones – go to work by boat.
On this early December day, ‘Fatih’ sails idly across the Bosphorus, easily avoiding small fishing boats and large freighters. The following route is the route traveling between the districts. Besiktas Y Kadikoy. Twenty minutes each way.
On the bridge, the captain laughs. “Who told you this? So just the address… Tell me your name and we’ll figure it out right away“, Says Ahmet slightly moving, a little sleepy, ‘Conqueror’s order. “No, but seriously, we’re all doing our part here and we wouldn’t be able to work without each other. It’s an honor for us to be able to. contribute to the functioning of the entire city, take people to work. Plus, it’s one of the best jobs in the world. The views from here are incredible. You get used to it, you don’t look at it much anymore, but it’s unbelievable and sometimes I start looking around to see where that freighter is going, where this freighter is coming from,” says Captain Ahmet.
one floor down Sign He doesn’t have time to look out the window. Your customers wait, line up, sometimes rushing you. He’s in full swing, now he’s filling the glasses, now he’s getting his money, now he’s cleaning the coffee pot. Sena, yes now, is responsible for ‘Fatih’s heart: his Cafeteria. “I don’t know about the ship, but for the workers, we are the most important. We are the ones who numb them with coffee every morning,” says Sena.
“I love this job and finally meet a lot of people who go to work on the ship every morning, and since I already know when they’re going up, I’m already making a toast and coffee so they’re ready when they come up,” she explains. Sometimes he manages to look out the window when it’s quiet. the thousand-year-old buildings and centuries-old minarets of the city’s historical peninsula: “Sometimes I see dolphins. I should even see it one day a seal. Who knows where it would come from…”.
Flashback
Everything changed in 1973 for ‘Fatih’, his companions and ancestors. first bosphorus bridgewhich united Asia Y Europe created new direct competition to and from ferries for the first time.
“The journey we take by boat is no longer so important to the city, because before there was no other way to cross the throat He remembers Captain Ahmet. Now there are bridges [hay tres], subway and tunnel. we became one means of transport something more nostalgic. The ferry is almost never full; before it was impossible to sit down”.
It is already late, the sun is setting and dozens of people are filling the harbor to enter ‘Fatih’ and return to their homes. Canan and her two friends they prepare: guitar and bass drum in hand; it’s a microphone, a loudspeaker, and at his feet a basket filled with some banknotes and coins. “Welcome everyone, have a nice trip.says Canan before starting. Many turn to listen; some take out their phones to record images with background music.
“We don’t work in the morning because people go to work and we don’t want to bother, but many people like to listen to music in the afternoon. When people come home, we add color to their journey. We had a good time and participated in the creation of this nostalgia idea on boat trips,” explains the singer.
“We can do it 20 minute concerts It is a place where we know that those sitting in front of us will have to listen to us throughout the entire journey,” says Canan. ‘mandatory’ concerts. “So you make a lot more money on ferries than anywhere else. But we don’t do it all for money, do we? we do this because we love it ” indicates.
It is already night and the passengers are leaving the ship. Canan and her friends thank those who gave them some money. The pier lowered, the door opened, and all the passengers poured out. For them the day is over; However, al ‘Fatih’, there are still a few continents to connect.