diff --git a/vcr/request.py b/vcr/request.py
index 9e76352..d9dac9d 100644
--- a/vcr/request.py
+++ b/vcr/request.py
@@ -36,10 +36,16 @@ class Request(object):
         q = urlparse(self.uri).query
         return sorted(parse_qsl(q))
 
+    # alias for backwards compatibility
     @property
     def url(self):
         return self.uri
 
+    # alias for backwards compatibility
+    @property
+    def protocol(self):
+        return self.scheme
+
     def __key(self):
         return (
             self.method,