Bosphorus is the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara; 32km
(20 miles) long, 650-3300m (720-3600 yards) wide, 30-120m (100-395ft) deep.
Bosphorus
comes from a Tracian word of unknown origin, interpreted
in Greek as meaning "Ford of the Cow", from the legend of Io, one of the many
lovers of Zeus, who swam
across the sea here as a cow chased and continuously disturbed by flies sent by
Hera.
Known in Turkish as Bogazici (the Strait), it links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and, with the Dardanelles (in Canakkale), separates Europe from Asia. It is a former river valley which was drowned by the sea at the end of the Tertiary period. This is a very busy strait with many ships and oil tankers, as well as local fishing and passenger boats.
There
are two suspension toll bridges on this Strait: The first one over the
Bosphorus between Beylerbeyi and Ortaköy, opened in 1973, is called as Bogazici Bridge,
1074m (1175yards) long, 6 lanes, 165m (540ft) height of piers. The second
one between Anadolu Hisari and Rumeli
Hisari, opened in 1988, is called as Fatih Sultan
Mehmet Bridge, 1090m (1192yd) long, 8 lanes, 65m from the water.
With
the shores rising to heights up to 200m (650ft), lined with palaces,
ruins, villages, and gardens, this is one of the most beautiful stretches
of scenery in Turkey. The best way of seeing the
Bosphorus in all its beauty is to take a trip on one of the coastal boats,
in this way you can also admire many of the old Ottoman
wooden houses (called as Yali in Turkish).
Some of the interesting palaces, buildings or neighborhoods on the Bosphorus are: Galata tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Ciragan Palace, Yildiz Palace, Besiktas, Ortaköy, Arnavutköy, Bebek, Rumeli Fortress, Tarabya, Yeniköy, Istinye, Sariyer, Uskudar (Scutari), Kanlica, Beykoz, Anatolian Fortress, Beylerbeyi Palace and Kuleli Military High school.
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