Istanbul Facts
courtesy of
Time Out Istanbul

There are 1,800,000 cars on the roads in Istanbul. Every day another 630 are added but only 25 are removed from the road.

The first traffic accident in Istanbul happened near Taksim in 1912 when the chauffeur of the Italian Ambassador knocked down an Albanian pedestrian before speeding off. He was later arrested by police.

In 2005, 21,122,789 tourists spent their holidays in Turkey, generating $18 billion.

Only 31% of Europeans support Turkey's bid to join the EU.

Of 50 countries surveyed by the World GSM Union, Turks pay the most for their mobile phones paying 44% tax to the government... so if I have not called recently, that is why.

Photo: Taksim tram, Istaklal Cad.