HISTORY OF TURKEY: Hezarfen Ahmed Ҫelebi - First Human to Fly?
The story of Turkish scientist and inventor Hezarfen Ahmed Ҫelebi (“Chelebi”), a folk hero from the Ottoman era who, according to legend, was the first person to fly. In 1632, using a pair of wings that he built—and that were perhaps inspired by the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci—Hezarfen Ahmed Ҫelebi flew across the Bosphorus in the city of Constantinople, or what is Istanbul today.