Along the Bosphorus

The Bosphorus is a 30km strait that slices through Istanbul, dividing Europe and Asia and linking the Marmara and Black Seas. It narrows to just 660m at its tightest point and widens to 4.5km elsewhere, a natural bottleneck with serious strategic importance.

The name comes from Greek mythology: Io, a lover of Zeus, was turned into a cow to hide her from his wife, Hera. Chased by a gadfly, she leapt into the strait, hence the Bosphorus, or “Ford of the Cow”.

Today, ferries, tankers, and fishing boats all share its busy waters, and cruising the Bosphorus, especially at sunset, is a highlight of many Turkey trips, offering a front-row view of Ottoman palaces, grand mosques, and hillside mansions.

Around eighty thousand cargo ships, oil tankers and ocean liners pass through the strait each year, while for residents and visitors alike the Bosphorus remains İstanbul’s most important transport artery. The passenger ferries and sea buses that weave their way up and down from shore to shore provide one of the city’s real highlights: along the way are imperial palaces and ancient fortresses interspersed with small fishing villages and wooden yalıs (waterside mansions). Despite its pollution the Bosphorus is also full of fish – from swordfish to hamsi (a small fish belonging to the anchovy family).