The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural
strait and an internationally significant waterway located in
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
in northwestern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. It forms part of the continental
boundary between Asia and Europe
Determining the boundaries between the continents of Earth is generally a matter of geographical convention. Several slightly different conventions are in use. The number of continents is most commonly considered seven (in English-speaking cou ...
, and divides Turkey by separating
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
from
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
. It is the world's narrowest strait used for
international navigation.
Most of the shores of the Bosporus Strait, except for the area to the north, are heavily settled, with the city of
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
's
metropolitan population of 17 million inhabitants extending inland from both banks.
The Bosporus Strait and the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
Strait at the opposite end of the Sea of Marmara are together known as the
Turkish Straits.
Sections of the shore of the Bosporus in Istanbul have been reinforced with concrete or rubble and those sections of the Strait prone to
deposition are periodically dredged.
Name
The name of the strait comes from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
(), which was folk-etymologised as , i.e. "cattle strait" (or "Ox-ford"), from the genitive of 'ox, cattle' + 'passage', thus meaning 'cattle-passage', or 'cow passage'.
This is a reference to the
Greek mythological story of
Io, who was transformed into a cow and condemned to wander the Earth until she crossed the Bosporus, where she met the
Titan Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
, who comforted her by telling her that she would be restored to human form by
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
and become the ancestor of the greatest of all heroes,
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
(Hercules).
Io supposedly went ashore near
Chrysopolis (present-day
Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...
), which was named 'the Cow'. The same site was also known as
Damalis (), as it was where the Athenian general
Chares had erected a monument to his wife Damalis, which included a colossal statue of a cow (the name translating to 'heifer').
The English spelling with ''-ph-'', ''Bosphor'' is not justified by the ancient Greek name, and dictionaries prefer the spelling with ''-p-'' but ''-ph-'' occurs as a variant in
medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...
(as ''Bosphor'', and occasionally ''Bosphorus'' or ''Bospherus)'', and in
medieval Greek
Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Fall of Co ...
sometimes as , giving rise to the French form , Spanish and Russian . The 12th-century Greek scholar
John Tzetzes calls it (after ''Damalis''), but he also reports that in popular usage the strait was known as during his day, the name of
the most ancient northern harbour of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. In English English the preferred spelling tends to be Bosphorus.
Historically, the Bosporus was also known as the "Strait of Constantinople", or the
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
Bosporus to distinguish it from the
Cimmerian Bosporus
The Kerch Strait, uk, Керченська протока, crh, Keriç boğazı, ady, Хы ТӀуалэ is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west f ...
in
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. These are expressed in
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
's ''
Histories'', 4.83; as , , and (), respectively. Other names used by Herodotus to refer to the strait include
Chalcedon
Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...
ian Bosporus (, [], Herodotus 4.87), or Mysian Bosporus ().
The term eventually came to be used as the common noun , meaning "a strait", and was also formerly applied to the
Hellespont in Classical Greek by
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
and
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
.
Geography
As a maritime waterway, the Bosporus specifically connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and thence to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas via the Dardanelles. It also connects various seas along the
Eastern Mediterranean, the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, the
Near East, and
Western Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago an ...
. Thus, the Bosporus allows maritime connections from the Black Sea all the way to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean via Gibraltar, and to the Indian Ocean through the
Suez Canal, making it a crucial international waterway, in particular for the passage of goods coming from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
There is one very small island in the Bosporus just off Kuruçeşme. Now generally known as
Galatasaray Island (''Galatasaray Adası),'' this was given to the Armenian architect
Sarkis Balyan
The Balyan family ( hy, Պալեաններ; tr, Balyan ailesi or ''Palyan ailesi'') was a prominent Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire consisting of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dyna ...
by Sultan
Abdülhamid II
Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
in 1880. The house he built on it was later demolished and the island became a walled garden and then a water sports centre before being given to the Galatsaray Sports Club, hence its name. However, in the 2010s it was completely overbuilt with nightclubs which were torn down in 2017. It reopened to the public in the summer of 2022.
Formation
The exact cause and date of the formation of the Bosporus remain a subject of debate among geologists. One recent hypothesis, dubbed the
Black Sea deluge hypothesis
The Black Sea deluge is the best known of three hypothetical flood scenarios proposed for the Late Quaternary history of the Black Sea. It is one of the two of these flood scenarios which propose a rapid, even catastrophic, rise in sea level of ...
, which was launched by a study of the same name in 1997 by two scientists from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, postulates that the Bosporus was flooded around 5600 BCE (revised to 6800 BCE in 2003) when the rising waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Marmara broke through to the Black Sea, which at the time, according to the hypothesis, was a low-lying body of fresh water.
Many geologists, however, claim that the strait is much older, even if relatively young on a geologic timescale.
Present morphology
The limits of the Bosporus are defined as the line connecting the lighthouses of
Rumeli Feneri
__NOTOC__
Rumeli Feneri, also Türkeli Feneri, a historical lighthouse still in use, is located on the European side of the Bosporus Strait's Black Sea entrance in Istanbul.
Etymology
Rumeli (or Rumelia) is a former name for the Ottoman territ ...
and
Anadolu Feneri in the north, and between the
Ahırkapı Feneri and the
Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri
The Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri (aka ''Kadıköy Feneri'' or ''İnciburnu Feneri'') is a lighthouse located at the head of Kadıköy Harbor's İnciburnu Breakwater on the Anatolian coast of Bosporus' south entrance, in Kadıköy district of Ista ...
in the south ("Fener" is Turkish for lighthouse). Between these limits, the strait is long, with a width of at the northern entrance and at the southern entrance. Its maximum width is between Umuryeri and Büyükdere Limanı, and minimum width between
Kandilli Point and
Aşiyan.
The depth of the Bosporus varies from in midstream with an average of . The deepest point is between Kandilli and
Bebek, at . The shallowest locations are off Kadıköy İnciburnu at and off Aşiyan Point at .
The southbound flow of water is 16 000 m
3/s (fresh water at the surface) and the northbound flow is 11 000 m
3/s (salt water near the bottom). Dr. Dan Parsons and researchers at the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
School of Earth and Environment describe a
Black Sea undersea river.
The
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
is an
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
off the main strait that historically acted as a moat to protect Constantinople from attack, as well as providing sheltered anchorage for the imperial navies of various empires until the 19th century, after which it became a historic neighbourhood at the heart of Istanbul.
Newer explorations
Before the 20th century it was already known that the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara flow into each other in a geographic example of "density flow". Then in August 2010, a continuous 'underwater channel' of
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
composition was discovered flowing along the floor of the Bosporus, which would be the sixth largest river on Earth if it were on land.
The 2010 team of scientists, led by the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
, used a robotic "yellow submarine" to observe detailed flows within this "undersea river", scientifically referred to as a
submarine channel,
for the first time. Submarine channels are similar to land rivers, but they are formed by density currents—underwater flow mixtures of sand, mud and water that are denser than sea water and so sink and flow along the bottom. These channels are the main transport pathway for sediments to the deep sea where they form sedimentary deposits.
The team studied the detailed flow within these channels and its findings included that:
The central tenet of the
Black Sea deluge hypothesis
The Black Sea deluge is the best known of three hypothetical flood scenarios proposed for the Late Quaternary history of the Black Sea. It is one of the two of these flood scenarios which propose a rapid, even catastrophic, rise in sea level of ...
is that as the ocean rose at the end of the last Ice Age when the massive ice sheets melted, the sealed Bosporus was overwhelmed by a spectacular flood that increased the then fresh water Black Sea Lake by 50%, and drove people back from the shores for many months. This hypothesis was supported by the findings of undersea explorer
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology o ...
, who discovered settlements along the old shoreline; scientists dated the
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
to 7500 BP or 5500 BC from fresh-salt water microflora. Driven out by the rapidly rising water, which must have been terrifying and inexplicable, people spread to all corners of the Western world carrying the story of a major flood. As the waters surged, they scoured a network of sea-floor channels less resistant to denser suspended solids in liquid, which remains a very active layer today.
The first images of these submarine channels showing them to be of great size, were obtained in 1999 during a
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
SACLANT Undersea Research project using jointly the NATO RV ''Alliance'', and the
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...
survey ship ''Çubuklu''. In 2002, a survey carried out on board the Ifremer RV ''Le Suroit'' for BlaSON project (Lericolais, et al., 2003) completed the multibeam mapping of this underwater channel fan-delta. A complete map was published in 2009 using these previous results together with high quality mapping obtained in 2006 (by researchers at
Memorial University of Newfoundland who were project partners in the study).
The project was led by Jeff Peakall and Daniel Parsons at the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
, in collaboration with the
University of Southampton
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
,
Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the
Institute of Marine Sciences
The Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) is a Turkish facility that focuses on marine science-related education and research. IMS was founded in 1975 on the Erdemli Campus at METU ( Middle East Technical University) in Erdemli
Erdemli is a town ...
. The survey was run and coordinated from the Institute of Marine Sciences research ship, the
R/V ''Koca Piri Reis''.
Villages
The shores of the Bosporus were once lined with small fishing villages that had grown up since Byzantine times but really came into their own in the 19th century. Until the early 20th century most were only accessible by boat (known as caiques) along the Bosporus since there were no coast roads. Today the villages are no more than suburbs of Greater Istanbul but many retain the memory of their original village status in the suffix '-''köy (''village' to their names. e.g
Ortaköy
Ortaköy ( ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood within the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing village, known in Greek as Agios Fokas (Άγιος Φωκάς) in t ...
,
Yeniköy,
Arnavutköy,
Çengelköy
Çengelköy is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Turkey, between the neighborhoods of Beylerbeyi and Kuleli. It is mainly a residential district. Many mansions were built there in t ...
and Vaniköy. These villages often had distinct identities associated with agriculture: Arnavutköy, for example, was associated with strawberry-growing while Çengelköy was famous for its sweet cucumbers.
History
As part of the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosporus has always been of great importance from a commercial and military point of view, and it remains strategically important today. It is a major sea access route for numerous countries, including
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Control over it has been an objective of a number of conflicts in modern history, notably the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
, as well as of the attack of the
Allied Powers on the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
during the 1915
Battle of Gallipoli in the course of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine the Bosporus' importance as a route by which grain reached the world was thrown into sharp profile.
Ancient Greek, Persian, Roman and Byzantine eras (pre-1453)
The strategic importance of the Bosporus dates back millennia. In the 5th century BC the Greek city-state of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, which depended on grain imports from the Black Sea ports of
Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
Hi ...
, maintained critical alliances with cities which controlled the straits, such as the
Megarian colony
of Byzantium.
In an attempt to subdue the
Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
Hi ...
n horsemen who roamed across the north of the Black Sea, the Persian King
Darius I the Great () crossed the Bosporus, then marched towards the
River Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. His army crossed the Bosporus using an enormous bridge made by connecting boats. This bridge essentially connected the farthest geographic tip of Asia to Europe, encompassing at least some 1,000 metres of open. Years later,
Xerxes I
Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of D ...
would construct a similar
boat bridge across the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
(
Hellespont) strait (480 BC), during his
invasion of Greece.
The
Byzantines called the Bosporus "Stenon" and used the following major toponyms in the area:
* on the European side:
** Bosporios Akra
** Argyropolis
** St. Mamas
** St. Phokas
** Hestiai or Michaelion
** Phoneus
** Anaplous or Sosthenion
* on the Asian side:
** Hieron tower
** Eirenaion
** Anthemiou
** Sophianai
** Bithynian Chrysopolis
The strategic significance of the Strait was one of the factors in the decision of the Roman Emperor
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
the Great to found his new capital,
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, there in AD 330. This then became the capital of the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
.
Ottoman era (1453–1922)
On 29 May 1453, the then-emergent
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
conquered the city of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
following a lengthy campaign during which the Ottomans constructed fortifications on each side of the strait, the
Anadoluhisarı
Anadoluhisarı ( en, Anatolian Castle), known historically as Güzelce Hisar ("the Beauteous Castle") is a medieval Ottoman fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey on the Anatolian (Asian) side of the Bosporus. The complex is the oldest surviving ...
(Anatolian Castle,1393) and the
Rumelihisarı
Rumelihisarı (also known as Rumelian Castle and Roumeli Hissar Castle) or Boğazkesen Castle (meaning "Strait-Blocker Castle" or literally "Throat-Cutter Castle") is a medieval fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey, on a series of hills on the Eu ...
(European Castle, 1451), in preparation for not only the primary battle but to assert long-term control over the Bosporus and surrounding waterways. The final 53-day campaign, which resulted in Ottoman victory, constituted an important turn in world history. Together with
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
's first voyage to the Americas in 1492, the
1453 conquest of Constantinople is commonly noted as among
the events that brought an end to the Middle Ages and marked the transition to the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
and the
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
.
The event also marked the end of the
Byzantines—the final remnants of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
—and the transfer of the control of the Bosporus into Ottoman hands. The Ottomans then made Constantinople their new capital, and the base from which they expanded their empire in the centuries that followed.
At its peak between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was able to use the strategic importance of the Bosporus to wrest control of the entire
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
area, which they regarded as an "Ottoman lake", from which Russian warships were prohibited.
Subsequently, several international treaties have governed access to the Strait. Under the
Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi The Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi (once commonly spelled Unkiar Skelessi, and translating to The Treaty of "the Royal Pier" or "the Sultan's Pier") was a treaty signed between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire on July 8, 1833, following the m ...
of 8 July 1833, the Bosporus and
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
straits were to be closed to the naval vessels of other powers on Russian demand. By the terms of the
London Straits Convention
In the London Straits Convention concluded on 13 July 1841 between the Great Powers of Europe at the time—Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Austria and Prussia—the "ancient rule" of the Ottoman Empire was re-established by closing the Tur ...
, concluded on 13 July 1841 between the
Great Powers of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
(
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
), the "ancient rule" of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
was re-established by closing the Turkish Straits to all
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
s, barring those of the
Sultan's allies during wartime. This benefited
British naval power at the expense of the Russians, as the latter then lacked direct access to the Mediterranean.
Summer Embassies
During the 19th century many of the foreign powers represented in Constantinople maintained second embassies up the Bosporus and would relocate their staff there during the hot, humid summer months. Most of these summer embassies were on the European shore at
Yeniköy (Austrian),
Tarabya
Tarabya ( ota, Tarabiye, el, Θεραπειά, translit=Therapiá) is a neighbourhood in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the European shoreline of the Bosphorus strait, between the neighbourhoods of Yeniköy and Kir ...
(German, English, French, Italian) and
Büyükdere (Spanish, Russian). Some of the buildings still survive today although the British Summer Embassy burnt down in 1911 and the Italian Summer Embassy, a fine building by
Raimondo d'Aronco, survives in very dilapidated condition.
Turkish republican era (1923–present)
Following the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the 1920
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...
demilitarised the Strait and made it an international territory under the control of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. This was amended by the
Treaty of Lausanne (1923)
The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the confl ...
, which restored the straits to Turkey but allowed all foreign warships and commercial shipping to traverse the straits freely. Turkey eventually rejected the terms of that treaty, and remilitarised the straits area. The reversion was formalised under the
of 20 July 1936. That convention - which is still in force - treats the straits as an international shipping lane except that Turkey retains the right to restrict the naval traffic of non–Black Sea states.
Turkey was neutral in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
until February 1945, and the straits were closed to the warships of belligerent nations during this time, although some German
auxiliary vessels were permitted to transit. In diplomatic conferences,
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
representatives had expressed an
interest
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...
in obtaining naval bases on the straits. This, together with Stalin's demands for the restitution of the Turkish provinces of
Kars,
Artvin
Artvin ( Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea.
It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam. It is a former bishopric and (vacant) Armeni ...
and
Ardahan
Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.
It is the capital of Ardahan Province.
History
Ancient and medieval
Ardaha ...
to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
(which were lost by Turkey in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, but were regained with the
Treaty of Kars
The Treaty of Kars ( tr, Kars Antlaşması, rus, Карсский договор, Karskii dogovor, ka, ყარსის ხელშეკრულება, hy, Կարսի պայմանագիր, az, Qars müqaviləsi) was a treaty that est ...
in 1921), was a consideration in Turkey's decision to abandon
neutrality in foreign affairs. Turkey declared war against Germany in February 1945, but did not engage in offensive actions.
Turkey joined
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in 1952, thus affording the straits even more strategic importance as a commercial and military waterway.
During the early 21st century, the
Turkish Straits have become particularly important for the oil industry. Russian oil, from ports such as
Novorossiysk, was exported by tankers primarily to the U.S. via the Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits.
Istanbul Canal
In 2011, Turkey proposed to build a
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
west of the Bosporus, suggesting that it would reduce the risk presented to the Bosporus by oil tankers and other cargo ships.
The project proved highly controversial and, , work had not been started on building the canal even though a route for it had been established.
In mythology
The Bosphorus takes its name from the
Greek mythological story of
Io, who was transformed into a cow and, pursued by a gadfly, was condemned to wander the Earth until she reached the Strait. There she met the
Titan Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
, who comforted her by telling her that she would be restored to human form by
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
and become the ancestor of the greatest of all heroes,
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
(Hercules).
According to
ancient Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...
, it was said that colossal floating rocks known as the
Symplegades, or Clashing Rocks, once guarded both sides of the Bosporus and destroyed any ship that attempted to pass through the strait by crushing them. Their destructive power was finally overcome by the Argonaut hero
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...
who managed to pass between them unscathed, whereupon the rocks became fixed, opening Greek access to the Black Sea.
Crossings
Maritime
The Bosporus is traversed by numerous passenger and vehicular ferries daily, as well as by recreational and fishing boats ranging from dinghies to yachts owned by both public and private entities.
The Strait also serves a significant amount of international commercial shipping traffic in the form of
freighters and
tankers
Tanker may refer to:
Transportation
* Tanker, a tank crewman (US)
* Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids
** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk
** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tank ...
. Between its northern limits at
Rumeli Feneri
__NOTOC__
Rumeli Feneri, also Türkeli Feneri, a historical lighthouse still in use, is located on the European side of the Bosporus Strait's Black Sea entrance in Istanbul.
Etymology
Rumeli (or Rumelia) is a former name for the Ottoman territ ...
and
Anadolu Feneri and its southern ones at
Ahırkapı Feneri and
Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri
The Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri (aka ''Kadıköy Feneri'' or ''İnciburnu Feneri'') is a lighthouse located at the head of Kadıköy Harbor's İnciburnu Breakwater on the Anatolian coast of Bosporus' south entrance, in Kadıköy district of Ista ...
, there are numerous dangerous points for large-scale maritime traffic that require sharp turns and management of visual obstructions. Famously, the stretch between
Kandilli Point and
Aşiyan requires a 45-degree course alteration in a location where the currents can reach . To the south, at
Yeniköy, the necessary course alteration is 80 degrees. Compounding these difficult changes in trajectory, the rear and forward sight lines at
Kandilli and
Yeniköy are also completely blocked prior to and during the course alteration, making it impossible for ships approaching from the opposite direction to see around the bends. The risks posed by this geography are further multiplied by the heavy ferry traffic across the Strait, linking the European and Asian sides of the city. As such, all the dangers and obstacles characteristic of narrow waterways are present and acute in this vital sea lane.
In 2011, the Turkish Government started to discuss creating a man-made canal roughly long that would run north–south through
the western edges of Istanbul Province as a second route from the Black Sea to the Marmara. It was suggested that this would reduce the risk from shipping to the Bosporus.
The controverislal
Kanal İstanbul project continues to be debated.
In 2022 the dues levied by Turkey for freight ships increased 500% to USD4 per ton, the first change since 1983.
Land bridges
Two
suspension bridges and a
cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...
cross the Bosporus. The first of these, the long
15th July Martyrs Bridge was completed in 1973 when it was called the Bosporus Bridge. The second, named
Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Bosporus II) Bridge, is long, and was completed in 1988 about north of the first bridge. The first Bosporus Bridge forms part of the
O1 Motorway, while the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge forms part of the
Trans-European Motorway
The Trans-European Motorways (abbreviated "TEM") are a project of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe of sub-regional cooperation among Central, Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chi ...
. The third and most recent bridge, the
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge
The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge ( tr, Yavuz Sultan Selim Köprüsü) is a bridge for rail and motor vehicle transit over the Bosphorus strait, to the north of two existing suspension bridges in Istanbul, Turkey. It was initially named the Third Bos ...
, is long and was completed in 2016.
It is located near the northern end of the Bosporus, between the villages of
Garipçe on the European side and
Poyrazköy
Poyrazköy is the name of a village (village Poyraz, tr: Poyrazköy) in Beykoz district, Istanbul Province. According to the last census, Poyraz had 904 inhabitants (as of the end of December 2010). Poyraz lies at the exit of the Bosporus into the ...
on the Asian side, as part of the "
Northern Marmara Motorway
The Otoyol 7 (O-7; English: Motorway 7), or Kuzey Marmara Otoyolu, is a toll motorway that bypasses Istanbul to the north. The motorway is 243km in length between the Kınalı junction and the Akyazı junction, and is 8 lanes wide (4+ ...
", integrated into the existing Black Sea Coastal Highway, and allowing transit traffic to bypass city traffic.
Submarine
The
Marmaray
The Marmaray () is a intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A rail tunnel running under the Bosphorus strait was connected to an upgraded version of the old suburban train service (known as the banliyö), allowing trains ...
project, featuring a long undersea
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
, opened on 29 October 2013. Approximately of the tunnel runs under the strait, at a depth of about .
An undersea
water supply tunnel with a length of ,
named the
Bosporus Water Tunnel
The Bosphorus Water Tunnel ( tr, Boğaziçi Su Tüneli) or Bosporus aqueduct is an undersea aqueduct in Istanbul, Turkey, crossing the Bosphorus strait. It was constructed in 2012 to transfer water from the Melen Creek in Düzce Province to the ...
, was constructed in 2012 to transfer water from the Melen Creek in
Düzce Province
Düzce Province ( tr, ) is a province in northwestern Turkey. It is on the coastline of the Black Sea and is traversed by the main highway between Istanbul and Ankara. The main town is Düzce. There are ancient Greek ruins in the province.
Düz ...
(to the east of the Bosporus strait, in northwestern
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
) to the European side of Istanbul, a distance of .
The
Eurasia Tunnel
The Eurasia Tunnel ( tr, Avrasya Tüneli) is a road tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey, crossing underneath the Bosphorus strait. The tunnel was officially opened on 20 December 2016 and opened to traffic on 22 December 2016.
The double-deck tunnel c ...
is a undersea
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...
tunnel designed for vehicular traffic between
Kazlıçeşme on the European side of Istanbul and
Göztepe on the Asian side. Construction began in February 2011, and the tunnel opened on 20 December 2016.
Up to four submarine fibre optics lines (
MedNautilus
MedNautilus is a submarine telecommunications cable system linking countries bordering the Eastern/Central Mediterranean Sea. It is a successor of the LEV system linking Cyprus, Israel and Italy.
It has landing points in:
#Catania, Sicily, ...
and possibly others) approach Istanbul, coming from the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles.
Strategic importance
The Bosporus is the only way for
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
(south-western part) and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
to reach the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
and other seas. Thus sovereignty over the straits is an important issue for these countries, as well as
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, the state the Bosporus actually flows through.
Turkey does not receive tolls from ships passing through the strait. Turkey's military has broad powers in accordance with the terms of the
Montreux Convention
The (Montreux) Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, often known simply as the Montreux Convention, is an international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey. Signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace ...
. As of 2021, the Bosporus Command is located on the shores of the Bosporus and the military ships connected to the Command are anchored in the Bosporus waters.
Located on a peninsula at the intersection of the Black Sea, the Bosporus and the Marmara Sea, Istanbul has historically been one of the most protected and hardest-to-conquer cities from Roman times to the Ottoman Empire. Divided by the Bosporus, is one of very few intercontinental cities in the world.
Sightseeing
The Bosporus has 620
waterfront houses (''yalı'') built during the
Ottoman period along the Strait's European and Asian shorelines. Ottoman palaces such as the
Topkapı Palace
The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio, is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the complet ...
,
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace ( tr, Dolmabahçe Sarayı, ) located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coast of the Bosporus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 t ...
,
Yıldız Palace
Yıldız Palace ( tr, Yıldız Sarayı, ) is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the sultan and his court in the late 19th ...
,
Çırağan Palace
Çırağan Palace ( tr, Çırağan Sarayı), a former Ottoman Empire, Ottoman palace, is now a five-star hotel in the Kempinski, Kempinski Hotels chain. It is located on the European shore of the Bosporus, between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy in Istan ...
,
Feriye Palaces,
Beylerbeyi Palace,
Küçüksu Palace,
Ihlamur Palace,
Hatice Sultan Palace
The Hatice Sultan Mansion ( tr, Hatice Sultan Yalısı), a historical yalı ( en, waterside mansion) located at Bosporus in Ortaköy neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey and named after its original owner Hatice Sultan, is used today as a water sports ...
and
Adile Sultan Palace
Adile Sultan Palace ( tr, Adile Sultan Sarayı) is the former royal residence of Ottoman princess Adile Sultan. It was donated to the state by Adile Sultan to be used as a school building for the Kandilli Anatolian High School for Girls and ...
also stand on or near its shores. Other buildings and landmarks on the Bosporus include the
Kılıç Egyptian Consulate at
Bebek,
Bebek Mosque
Bebek Mosque ( tr, Bebek Camii), officially Hümayûn-u Âbad Mosque ( ota, Hümayûn-u Âbad Cami for: Prosperous Imperial Mosque) is a 1913-built mosque located in Bebek neighborhood of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey.
Bebek Mosque wa ...
,
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait. It has six faculties and tw ...
,
Robert College,
Rumeli Castle (RumelihisarI),
Borusan Museum of Contemporary Art,
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
The Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum ( tr, Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi) is a private fine arts museum in Istanbul, Turkey, dedicated to calligraphic art, religious and state documents, as well as paintings of the Ottoman era. The museum w ...
,
Sadberk Hanım Museum,
Üsküdar Mihrimah Sultan Mosque,
Şemsipaşa Mosque,
Maiden's Tower
__NOTOC__
The Maiden's Tower ( tr, Kız Kulesi), also known as Leander's Tower (''Tower of Leandros'') since the medieval Byzantine period, is a tower on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, from the coast of Ü ...
(Kızkulesi),
Beylerbeyi Mosque
The Beylerbeyi Mosque (), also known as the Hamid i-Evvel Mosque (), is a mosque located in the Beylerbeyi neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey. It was first built in 1777–1778 by the Ottoman sultan Abdülhamid I, but was later modified by Mahmud ...
,
Anadolu Castle (Anadoluhisarı),
Kuleli Military High School
Kuleli Military High School was the oldest military high school in Turkey, located in Çengelköy, Istanbul, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus strait. It was founded on September 21, 1845, by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I.
After the 2016 Tur ...
,
Adile Sultan Palace
Adile Sultan Palace ( tr, Adile Sultan Sarayı) is the former royal residence of Ottoman princess Adile Sultan. It was donated to the state by Adile Sultan to be used as a school building for the Kandilli Anatolian High School for Girls and ...
,
Küçüksu Pavilion
Küçüksu Pavilion ( tr, Küçüksu Kasrı), Littlewater Pavilion a.k.a. Göksu (Skywater) Pavilion, is a summer pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey, situated in the Küçüksu neighborhood of Beykoz district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus betwee ...
,
Khedive's Villa,
Beykoz Mecidiye Pavilion and
Yoros Castle
Yoros Castle ( tr, Yoros Kalesi) is a ruined castle dating back to Byzantine times that stands above the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, to the north of Joshua's Hill, in Beykoz district, Istanbul, Turkey. It is commonly referred t ...
(Anadaolu Kavağı).
Most of the
public ferries that traverse the Strait leave from
Eminönü
Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...
on the
historic peninsula of Istanbul and travel as far as
Anadolu Kavağı Anadolu (from Ancient Greek , 'east') is the Turkish form of Anatolia, which refers to a region of the world that is now part of the nation of Turkey, also known as Asia Minor (Medieval and Modern Greek).
Anadolu may also refer to:
Education ...
near the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. On the way they call briefly at points on both the European and Asian shores. Private ferries, also leaving from Eminönü, travel only as far as one of the first two Bosporus bridges. Ferries from Eminönü also travel as far as Rumeli Kavaği, stopping only at points on the European shore, while other ferries from Üsküdar travel as far as Anadolu Kavağı, stopping only at points on the Asian shore. Frequent public ferries from Eminõnü,
Karaköy
Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus.
Karaköy is one of the oldest an ...
,
Beşiktaş,
Kadıköy
Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea o ...
and
Usküdar offer short hops from one side of the Bosporus to the other throughout the day.
Catamaran
seabuses offer high-speed commuter services between the European and Asian shores of the Bosporus, but they stop at fewer
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
s and
pier
Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
s in comparison to the public ferries. Both the public ferries and the seabuses also provide commuter services between the Bosporus and the
Prince Islands
The Princes' Islands ( tr, Prens Adaları; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", el, Πριγκηπονήσια, ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar ( en, Islands); alternatively the Princes' Arch ...
in the
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...
.
Tourist cruises are available from various points along the Bosporus, including
Ortaköy
Ortaköy ( ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood within the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing village, known in Greek as Agios Fokas (Άγιος Φωκάς) in t ...
. The prices vary considerably, and some feature music and dining.
Architecture
The many ''
yalı
A yalı ( tr, yalı, from Greek ''yialí'' (mod. ''yialós''), literally "seashore, beach") is a house or mansion built right on the waterside (almost exclusively seaside, particularly on the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul) and usually built with ...
'' (waterside mansions) which were constructed along the shores of the Bosporus during the Ottoman period have long been synonymous with the Strait. Those that still preserve their original form are among the most expensive real estate in Turkey although sadly many have been lost to time, weather and 'accidental' fires. The oldest ''yalı'' on the European shore is the Şerifler Yalı at
Emirgan
Emirgan is a leafy, middle-class suburb of Istanbul, Turkey, on the western shore of the Bosphorus in the Sarıyer district north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (Second Bosphorus Bridge).
The name commemorates a friendship that eventually tur ...
which was built in the 18th century and belonged for a while to the Şerifs, the hereditary rulers of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
. It is still in good condition unlike the oldest ''yalı'' on the Asan side which is the Köprülü Amcazade Hüseyin Paşa Yalı at
Anadolu Hisarı Anadolu (from Ancient Greek , 'east') is the Turkish form of Anatolia, which refers to a region of the world that is now part of the nation of Turkey, also known as Asia Minor (Medieval and Modern Greek).
Anadolu may also refer to:
Education ...
which was built in 1698. Only the central section of this ''yalı'' survives and it has been behind hoardings promising restoration since 2009.
Most of the ''yalıs'' originally sat right on the water's edge and came with private docks and ports where boats (caiques) could be stored. On the Anatolian shore some yalıs are still right beside the water but on the European shore most now stand back behind a coast road built on reclaimed land.
The original ''yalıs'' usually had two main sections: the ''selamlık'' which was the public area and the part of the house used by the men, and the ''haremlik'' which was the private part of the house reserved for women and the family. These were the luxurious dwellings of the wealthy and some came with their own private
hamams (Turkish baths).
Egyptian legacy
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Egyptian royal family took a great liking to the Bosporus and often spent their summers on its shores. They left behind a legacy of fine buildings on or overlooking its shores, including the building at Bebek that now houses the Egyptian Consulate and the
Khedive's Villa (''Hıdiv Kasrı'') high on the hill above
Çubuklu
Çubuklu is a neighbourhood in Beykoz district on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus in İstanbul, Turkey. It was called Katangion (Κατάγγιον in Greek) in Byzantine times when it was a recreational area.
During the Ottoman era, some ...
.
See also
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Black Sea trade and economy
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Great Istanbul Tunnel
The Great Istanbul Tunnel ( tr, Büyük İstanbul Tüneli) is a proposed multi-use highway and railway undersea tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey to cross the Bosphorus strait.
Project
The project was officially announced by Prime minister Ahmet Davut ...
, a proposed three-level road-rail undersea tunnel
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Istanbul Canal
The Istanbul Canal ( tr, Kanal İstanbul) is a project for an artificial sea-level waterway, which is planned by Turkey on East Thrace, connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and thus to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Istanbul Canal ...
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List of maritime incidents in the Turkish Straits
The list of maritime incidents in the Turkish Straits is a listing of major maritime casualties that occurred in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey. Shipping accidents are a threat to the maritime environment and to human life in the ...
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Public transport in Istanbul
]
Public transport in Istanbul comprises a bus network, various rail systems, funiculars, and maritime services to serve the more than 18 million inhabitants of the city spread over an area of 5712 km2.
History
Public road transpor ...
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Rail transport in Turkey
Turkey has a state-owned railway system built to standard gauge () which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The primary rail carrier is the ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları'' (TCDD) (Turkish S ...
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Eastern Bosphorus
The Eastern Bosphorus (Russian: Босфор Восточный, ''Bosfor Vostochny'') is a strait located in Primorsky Krai, Russia, that separates the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula and Russky Island, and connects Amur Bay and Ussuri Bay within ...
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
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{{Authority control
Landforms of Istanbul Province
Straits of the Mediterranean Sea
Straits of Turkey
Tourism in Istanbul
Turkish Straits
Important Bird Areas of Turkey