Monday mystery: char-à-banc tours the Soviet way

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Many of us will be familiar with old holiday photographs of char-à-banc parties, usually a side profile shot of a large Leyland or Dennis taken against a backdrop of scenic coastline or an interesting landmark. That, at least, would be the norm for Britain, but the day-trippers we see here evidently came from the far eastern side of Europe, presumably from somewhere in, or soon to be in, the fast-expanding Soviet Union. We're going to have to guess at the make of the vehicle, but we think it might be a Fiat. A large number of char-à-bancs were built on Italian chassis, especially Fiats and Lancias, and the country's more rugged products proved to be fairly popularly for negotiating the rougher roads of eastern Europe. The radiator puts us in mind of the Fiat 509, built from 1925 to 1929.

The setting for the picture is also interesting. The photograph being somewhat over-exposed, details are difficult to make out, but our first thought was that it could be some sort of archæological site. The passengers all seem to be very young, so they could be archæology students. Then again, a child such as we see in the second row of seats probably wouldn't be accompanying them. Their clothes and dusty ground point to a hot day in the height of summer, probably in somewhere with a rather dry climate. Whatever the site may be, it is by no means newly-discovered. We will leave the Cyrillic to be deciphered by those who know it better than we, but we have transliterated a couple of words as biletov—"tickets"—and avtotransport—"motor traffic." Obviously, this place attracts its fair share of tourists. Possibly, if you're a linguist, the answer may be in plain sight... in which case, please tell us.

Words: Zack Stiling
Photograph: Stiling Collection

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