Leyland in Turkey
The local operator in Istanbul (I.E.T.T - the Municipality?) took delivery of a large number of Leyland "Olympic" single deck buses in the late nineteen sixties - did I read 400 or so somewhere? I do remember reading that they were driven to the channel ports and then, on arrival in France, were driven overland to Istanbul - now I would have loved to have driven one on THAT journey!
"Olympic" of course has Greek connotations, and so in order to appease Turkish sensibilities they were called "Levend"s. the name of (for?) a Turkish Warrior. However, as illustrated here, a number carried "Royal Tiger" badges, presumably as they were derived from the "Royal Tiger Worldmaster".
In October 1989 the type were reaching the end of their operational lives, although you wouldn't have believed it from their performance as they sped around Istanbul's narrow streets, the engines screaming away as they reacted to the violent air shifted gear changes.
Leyland in Turkey
The local operator in Istanbul (I.E.T.T - the Municipality?) took delivery of a large number of Leyland "Olympic" single deck buses in the late nineteen sixties - did I read 400 or so somewhere? I do remember reading that they were driven to the channel ports and then, on arrival in France, were driven overland to Istanbul - now I would have loved to have driven one on THAT journey!
"Olympic" of course has Greek connotations, and so in order to appease Turkish sensibilities they were called "Levend"s. the name of (for?) a Turkish Warrior. However, as illustrated here, a number carried "Royal Tiger" badges, presumably as they were derived from the "Royal Tiger Worldmaster".
In October 1989 the type were reaching the end of their operational lives, although you wouldn't have believed it from their performance as they sped around Istanbul's narrow streets, the engines screaming away as they reacted to the violent air shifted gear changes.