ISTANBUL, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Along Istanbul's busy waterfronts -- from historic Uskudar on the Bosphorus to the shipyards of Tuzla on the Sea of Marmara -- a different kind of fleet has taken shape. The vessels don't float in the harbor but sit on podiums: small, finely carved wooden ships with delicate rigging that trace the country's long maritime history.

The Traditional Ship Models Exhibition, organized by the Ship Modelers and Enthusiasts Association, recently spanned both sides of the city, moving from Uskudar on the European shore to Tuzla on the Asian coast. The show drew builders, students and historians, serving as a celebration of Türkiye's seafaring past and a window into a craft sustained by passion and strained by economics.

On display were side-oared Ottoman galleys that once dominated the Mediterranean, small merchant boats common to local waters, and the passenger ferries that became icons of 20th-century Istanbul.

"Model ships are far more than toys," said Serkan Ceylan, a board member of the association. "For us, building ship models is a way to reconstruct maritime history and honor the past."

Ceylan said the models also serve as teaching tools, giving young people a hands-on sense of naval architecture and mechanics.

Still, the craft faces obstacles. High costs and dependence on imported materials make it hard for Turkish model makers to continue their passion.

"The growth of model culture depends not only on personal dedication but also on industrial capacity and market availability," Ceylan said. Türkiye has the technical ability to produce precision parts, he said, but lacks a broader ecosystem to support the field. "What matters most is demand and a mature modeling culture."

For a city defined by water, the stakes are cultural as much as artistic. Uskudar Mayor Sinem Dedetas said that although the Bosphorus links the Black Sea and the Marmara, Istanbul often feels disconnected from its own shoreline.

"Constructing a ship model is a journey into the depths of our history," Dedetas said. She called the exhibitions an important way to reconnect residents with the sea and revive a maritime culture in a city where the coastline is widely underused.

There are signs the effort is reaching young people. At the Tuzla exhibition, students and faculty from Piri Reis University -- named after the Ottoman admiral and cartographer -- took part.

"Participating in this exhibition brought history alive," one student said, adding that the building process links classroom theory with the country's seafaring roots.

For Ceylan, that response is the goal: inspiring a new generation to look beyond the display cases and grasp the currents of the past. ■