One of the chief pastimes of wealthy Turkish women in Istanbul who spent much of their time in the seclusion of their houses was a trip in an araba or carriage, drawn by splendidly caparisoned oxen or horses. They would go to visit friends or to picnic at numerous places around Constantinople, usually a meadow with running water, such as the Sweet Waters of Asia or of Europe. The Sultan's Harem would also visit these picnic places, suitably veiled and guarded, as well as the royal palaces and their gardens on the Bosphorus. In modern Turkish the word araba still means a cart or carriage, but nowadays is usually the word for a car or even a bus.