Dog tours Istanbul on public transport

ISTANBUL

A dog has taken the internet by storm after photos circulated on social media showing it commuting on Istanbul’s public transport.

The buzz began when someone posted a photo of the dog on the tram in Istanbul with the caption saying, “A security officer wanted to take the dog out, but it resisted. Then he said, ‘Anybody bothered? Because if not, it will get off at Kabataş station’.”

Afterwards, several people posted pictures of the dog in separate places, on buses, metrobuses and ferries, along with the dates when he was spotted.

“He’s not getting on board accidentally. The dog is touring the city from the western side to the east,” a social media user joked.

“I saw the dog on a bus in Pendik [a district on the far Asian side]. Please put the dog on public transport back to the city center or it will start touring the country,” another wrote.

Some named the dog “Evliya Çelebi,” referring to the 17th-century Ottoman explorer who travelled through the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of 40 years, recording his commentary in a travelogue called the Seyâhatnâme (Book of Travel).

A Twitter account has been opened for the dog, with the username “İstanbul’u Turlayan Köpek” (The Dog Touring Istanbul), with posts on updates on where it was last seen.