Istanbul and other Eastern Mediterranean port cities adapted some elements of nineteenth century state‑of‑the‑art steam‑propelled urban transport at a very early stage. However, these coexisted for nearly 150 years with more time‑proven forms of muscle‑propelled vehicles. Based on the concept of chronopolitics, this article enquires into the attitudes that residents and visitors to these cities developed towards this wide range of possibilities to move about the city. Did steam‑ and muscle‑propelled mobility coexist peacefully or were they framed as a clash between different evolutionary stages?