Doğan Bayın is a researcher who has earned numerous accolades for his contributions to the Turkish maritime trade world, providing rare documents to archival studies with visual resources. He finds and publishes photographs that leave me both astonished and deeply impressed.
In this article, I am including a photograph of the “Taurus,” a stationary yacht belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Istanbul Embassy, which was identified by Doğan Bayın and to which I am witnessing for the first time.
Doğan Bayın also sent another photograph related to the Karaköy Pier. In this photograph, the “Sakarya” steamer is featured. This is my first encounter with this photograph.
It is a very rare image of the Sakarya Steamer (the vessel in the background). In this photograph, the sign of the Lloyd Triestino Karaköy agency reads “Vatis No.17 SMS Lloyd Triestino,” and in the background, there is a sign for “Hukuk Evi - Avukat Tahir Cemal.”
This photograph must be from around 1927-1931 at the Karaköy Pier. The steamers would dock directly at this pier, and the land side served both as a pier and a road. Indeed, lined up on the pier are what appear to be Ford Model B, AF, AA type taxis from around 1930-31. In the background, there is a postal steamer. Thus, in this rare photograph found by Doğan Bayın, we also see the Sakarya postal steamer belonging to the Sadıkzâde family, which I read as “Sakarya.” It was grounded on the Jura shoal during World War II and sank after being divided. This photograph has been archived thanks to Doğan Bayın.
Now, let’s come to the subject of my article; Doğan Bayın published the photograph in this article at the end of May. I was surprised again! This side-wheel vessel was lightly armed. He then sent another message... Its name is “Taurus.”
There are various photographs of this yacht available. However, none of them are of such high DPI quality, and none are from the time it was in the Golden Horn.
The stationary yacht Taurus belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Istanbul Embassy is in the Golden Horn. Photograph: Sebah & Joaillier. Max Fruchtermann Postcard.
The stationary yacht Taurus belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Istanbul Embassy is in Tarabya Bay. Photograph: Sebah & Joaillier. Postcard: Max Fruchtermann.
The stationary yacht Taurus belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Istanbul Embassy. Source: Levantine Heritage Foundation.
I began searching for Taurus in the documents. Records indicate that it was a stationary yacht belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Istanbul Embassy! Frankly, its translation is “Station Officer.” However, this does not adequately convey the reality! There is no similar compound word in English; the closest is “the ship at the station.” At least in the Ottoman capital Istanbul, most of the great powers (and a few who thought they were) had such yachts to fly their flags, mostly for leisure, and to escape the country in case of danger by taking refuge on this yacht. They were generally equipped with small cannons.
I scanned the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping annuals; Taurus was built in 1877 at the Stabilimento Tecnico Shipyard in Trieste, measuring 170x26 feet, with a draft of 6.5 feet, side-wheel driven, and iron-hulled. It was equipped with two simple cannons. Its maximum cruising speed was 12 knots. In fact, this was the second vessel named “Taurus.” In 1909, it was known as “Taurus III.” The last captain recorded in the Stabilimento Tecnico records was Nikolaus Horthy.
In the 1890 Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, there are records of five vessels named Taurus. The ones built in 1883 and 1885 were propeller-driven steamers. The one built in 1887 was a three-masted side-wheel yacht.
The French Embassy yacht in Istanbul was named “Nirvana-Taurus.”
The “Taurus” built by Dundee Gourley Brothers & Co. in the same year was owned by J.M. Haman and registered at the Port of New York. Thus, if we include the others, none of them are the “Taurus” we are discussing, and with one exception, none are side-wheel yachts.
The yacht, originally named “Nirvana,” was built for the Comtesse de Bearn from Rouen or Marseilles. In 1904, it was renamed “Taurus” and became the yacht of the French Embassy in Istanbul.
In September 1909, it served as a private yacht for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1915, it was transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Navy and served as a coast guard vessel, and was also used as a hospital ship.
In August 1917, it was renovated as a Prime Minister’s yacht.
In 1938, it was armed with cannons and served as a gunboat. On September 11, 1943, it sank due to a torpedo hit from German submarines S54 and S61 off Taranto.
In two photographs signed by Guillaume Berggren, the British Embassy yacht “Imogene” is in Tarabya. (Below) The yacht on the port side of Imogene belongs to the German Embassy, “Loreley.”
The British Embassy stationary yacht “Imogene” was originally named “Jacamar.” Built in 1882 at the Clydeholm Shipyard of Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. in Glasgow, this iron-hulled, two-masted, screw-driven yacht was first owned by John Burns from Wemyss Bay, Renfrewshire. It was registered at Glasgow Port on April 21, 1882. Jacamar had a gross tonnage of 301, net tonnage of 193, and dimensions of Length: 168.4 ft., Width: 24 ft., Depth: 11.0 ft., with a main steam engine producing 38 nhp, sourced from Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. in Glasgow.
Jacamar-Imogene registry. Source: Clyde Built Ships.
In December 1883, it was taken into service by the British Admiralty in London and named HMS Impey, but it was not registered as a military vessel. In May 1883, the existing embassy yacht “Capercailzie” was deemed inadequate in terms of cabins and use, leading to HMS Impey undergoing major repairs in August 1884, after which it was transferred to the British Embassy in Istanbul as a “Stationary Yacht.”
On May 15, 1919, it was purchased by Ledger Hill and renamed “Masr.”
In 1924, it was bought from Alexandria by Muhammad Abulaziz and registered at the Port of Alexandria. That same year, it was purchased from Alexandria by Ahmet Efendi, Ibrahim El Huveydi. In 1925, it was bought from the Italian-administered Meis Island by Elia Lacherdis. It was renamed “Castellerosso” and registered in Rhodes. In 1927, C. Lambis became a partner.
In 1931, it was purchased from Meis Island by Evangelos Giorgio Luca. In 1933, it was bought from Piraeus by N.A. Moraitis and E.G. Loucas and renamed “Georgios,” registered at the Port of Piraeus. In 1937, it was purchased by C.N. Machairas based in Piraeus and renamed “Loulis.”
On February 26, 1939, it was beached in the Cabo de Creus area of Valencia’s Vendres port due to becoming very difficult to control. The crew of 23 was rescued by the French destroyer Tigre.
(From far to near); 1-British Embassy yacht Imogene, 2-Austro-Hungarian embassy yacht Taurus, 3-French embassy yacht Nirvana, 4-Italian embassy yacht Galileo, in Tarabya. Photograph- Sebah & Joaillier. 1890. F.540.
The German Embassy stationary yacht SS Loreley in Istanbul.
The purpose of the construction of the SS Loreley, built in 1859 as the stationary yacht of the German Embassy, was not to serve as a yacht. During those years, there was a need for warships known as Aviso, and this type of warship was designed, with the first aviso being the Grille built in 1850. When this ship also served as a yacht, the Prussian Navy decided that another aviso was needed to serve as the flagship for the artillery flotillas defending the country’s Baltic coast. Designers returned to wooden side-wheel ships because they were not convinced of the long-term benefits of iron hulls or screw propulsion. Loreley was such a yacht. It served on the Italian coasts in 1860 to protect Prussian citizens during the Second Italian War of Independence. It assumed its intended role during the Second Schleswig War and was involved in the Battle of Jasmund against the Danish blockade fleet in March 1864, sustaining a hit. After the war, it was decommissioned and laid up for ten years. In the late 1860s, the Loreley, which was in poor condition, was largely rebuilt between 1869-1873. Due to the significant changes from the redesign and major repairs, some historians mistook the ship for two separate vessels. Loreley was assigned in 1879 to serve as a station ship in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, benefiting the European Great Powers.
In 1896, it was decommissioned in a worn-out state and sold by the end of that year, but its ultimate fate is unknown.
Embassy yachts in Istanbul during the Ottoman period.
During the Ottoman period, ambassadors and their diplomatic staff were not exempt from arrest and imprisonment for military reasons. In times of war, diplomats from countries that had entered into conflict with the Ottoman state sometimes escaped by sea, and the yachts anchored in Tarabya Bay partially fulfilled this purpose. Tarabya Bay, located halfway through the Bosphorus, was the presumed anchorage for these yachts, and various European states had summer palaces or mansions on the shore with their extensive lands overseeing them. These palaces or mansions are still in use and preserved today. The term “Stationary Yachts” was used for the yachts belonging to the embassies in Tarabya Bay.
The British Embassy stationary yacht “Imogene” in Tarabya Bay.
Source: Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: Sébah & Joaillier, Beyoğlu. “Salute de Constantinople.”
The British Embassy stationary yacht “Imogene” was used primarily for entertainment purposes for the ambassador and guests and served as a refuge in emergencies. The crew became champions in the first football season organized by the city’s British Levantines at the Constantinople Football Club in 1904-5.
Football was first popularized by the British Levantines, who established teams in Moda and Izmir. The first football club was the ‘Constantinople Association Football League’ established in 1902 by James La Fontaine and Henry Pears from Moda, encompassing various English and Greek clubs in the city. James La Fontaine and Henry Pears were also involved in the establishment of the ‘Cadi Keuy Football Club’ in 1899. The first mention of another English club in the archives was in 1897, known as ‘Moda Football Club,’ with red and blue as its colors. Additionally, there was an English football team named “H.M.S. Imogene Football Club,” composed of the crew and officers of the yacht, which had long been anchored in Therapia (Tarabya). The colors of the H.M.S. Imogene Football Club were dark blue and white. The champion of the 1904/5 season was ‘Imogene.’ Source: Levantine Heritage.
Both the embassy yachts in Tarabya and those in Tarabya Bay were photographed by the famous photographers of that era, and postcards were printed by the well-known printing house and bookstore in Beyoğlu, A. Zellich Fils, Bon Marché, Max Fruchtermann. The postcard was a highly popular mailing habit and fashion of the last century.
These postcards were always highly favored as part of the series “Salute de Constantinople - Greetings from Istanbul.”
The French Embassy Yacht (La Stationnaire Français) “La Moulette” in Tarabya. Source: Au Bon Marché- Beyoğlu.
The Tsarist Russia Istanbul Embassy yacht “Le Stationnaire Russe- Donetz.” Source: Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: Sébah & Joaillier, Beyoğlu.
The Italy Istanbul Embassy yacht “Le Stationnaire - Galileo.” Source: Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: Sébah & Joaillier, Beyoğlu.
The England Istanbul Embassy Tarabya Summer Palace. Source: Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: Sébah & Joaillier, Beyoğlu. “Salute de Constantinople.”
The Germany Istanbul Embassy Tarabya Summer Palace. Source: Bon Marché-Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: A. Berger Frères, Beyoğlu.
The Italy Istanbul Embassy Tarabya Summer Palace. Source: Bon Marché-Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: A. Berger Frères, Beyoğlu.
The France Istanbul Embassy Tarabya Summer Palace. Source: Bon Marché-Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: A. Berger Frères, Beyoğlu.
The Tsarist Russia Istanbul Embassy Büyükdere Summer Palace. Source: Bon Marché-Max Fruchtermann, Beyoğlu, Photograph: Sébah & Joaillier, Beyoğlu.
What happened to the Embassy Yachts in Tarabya... “Taurus” sank on September 11, 1943, due to a torpedo hit from German submarines S54 and S61 off Taranto. “Imogene” was beached on February 26, 1939, in the Cabo de Creus area of Valencia’s Vendres port due to becoming very difficult to control. The crew of 23 was rescued by the French destroyer Tigre.
“Loreley” was decommissioned in a worn-out state in 1896 and sold for scrap by the end of that year. There is no record of its subsequent condition.
“Galileo” left Istanbul before the war that began in 1911-1922 against Italy, which attacked Libya-Tripolitania, which was part of the Ottoman Empire.
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