By Sven Eberlein

Murat Suyabatmaz of Bisikletliler. Photo by Sven Eberlein.

Imagine a beautiful city with a Mediterranean climate, set on a peninsula suffused with rolling hills and connected to its greater metropolitan area by iconic bridges. A city known for its rich and diverse culture, expressed through unique neighborhoods full of vibrant street life, world class food, and stunning architecture, attracting year-round visitors from near and far. It’s the kind of place that people leave their hearts in and care deeply about, where a small group of dedicated locals can bring about change and start new movements. You know, like turning a congested metropolis into a bicycle-friendly oasis.

I am talking — of course you guessed it — about Istanbul. The fabled city on the Golden Horn of the Bosphorus Strait has seen it almost all: Rising and falling empires, crusades, progressive revivals, and in the last half century, unbridled suburban sprawl. However, one thing missing from its resume is a history of bicycle culture. Unlike in many of its northern European counterparts, the bike as a means of transportation hasn’t held a prominent role in recent history, a phenomenon that aligns Istanbul much more with San Francisco and other aspiring U.S. bicycle cities than, say, Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

“We’re very grateful to the cyclists of San Francisco. We like how they have organized a mass movement and set an example for us to follow,” says Murat Suyabatmaz, founder and captain of Bisikletliler, the Istanbul Cyclists’ Association, an organization that has spread to twenty cities since its inception in 1999 and become the Turkish Cyclists’ Association. “Our goal is to get more bike routes and the kind of bicycle culture you find in other European and American cities, because we want a healthier environment and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.”

Knowing that the simple act of riding your bike can send ripples of inspiration half way across the globe should be a boost to anyone who has ever wondered whether their daily choice of transportation makes a difference in the grand scheme of things. And for those San Francisco cyclists who sometimes get frustrated by potholes or a poorly marked merging lane, consider Istanbul’s challenges: According to Professor Ahmet Samsunlu, former public works and settlement minister of Turkey, Istanbul is adding an additional half million people to its 15 million residents each year, more than the entire population of Oakland. Imagine the difficulties in environmentally sound urban planning in the face of such uncontrolled growth.

For Suyabatmaz, a soft spoken 47-year old who looks like someone you might encounter at a business meeting in the financial district, the bicycle addresses so many of the challenges his city is facing. “Our biggest goal is to promote bicycle life and culture, emphasizing not only the economic and environmental but the practical benefits of riding your bike. For example” — and this one hits close to home — “the bicycle is an important means of transportation in the aftermath of an earthquake.”

But for Bisikletliler, Istanbul is just the beginning. As their network and local chapters are growing, they’re sharing their experience and know-how with other cities that are just starting to get hip to the bicycle. From designating special roads where kids can learn how to ride a bike, to creating integrated systems of bike lanes, Suyabatmaz and his associates are coordinating with local municipalities across Turkey, from nearby Izmit to the southwestern beach town of Antalya. “We’re not only improving transportation,” says Suyabatmaz, “but we’re involved in issues of ecology, health, education, and tourism.”

To illustrate why the bicycle is simply the right vehicle to get around on, Suyabatmaz compares it to bread: “We used to eat nutritious dark bread that was baked fresh and locally every morning. Then, about thirty years ago, everyone started to buy and eat cheap white bread. We’re just now realizing that the dark bread is not only much healthier but tastes better, and people are willing to spend a little extra money again to eat right. The bicycle is like dark bread, and it’s making a comeback in Turkey for the same reason: It’s good for everyone.”