Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi was an Ottoman Turkish scientist who is said to fly with the wings he made from Galata Tower to Üsküdar, whose story was told in the travelbook by famous Ottoman traveler, Evliya Celebi. Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi (1609-1940) inspired by Ismail Cevheri, a Turkish scientist lived in the 10th century, studied the birds first, practiced in Okmeydani and in 1632 he attempted to fly over the Bosphorus from Galata Tower to Üsküdar. However, it is not clear whether he succeded or not as there are’t any Ottoman records indicating Evliya Celebi’s accounts.
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Evliya Celebi also wrote about Hezarfen’s brother Lagari Hasan Celebi who performed the first flight with a rocket in a conical cage filled with gunpowder in 1633?
I am quite skeptical of this story. Gliding from the top of Rumeli Hisar, at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, seems more credible. But from Galata tower to Üsküdar is a much longer distance, and extremely difficult to believe, using 17th century Ottoman technology.