The magnificent city of Istanbul is located on the border of two continents, so the heart of the city can rightly be called the Bosphorus. The amazing beauty of the Bosphorus Strait mesmerises with its waters and contrasting shores. In the neighbourhood of fishing villages and modern skyscrapers are majestic palaces, which best reflect the fate of the city - a symbol of the intertwining of luxury and poverty, antiquity and modernity.
The mirrored waters of the Bosphorus, which give charm to the old city, can not be compared with anything. All the grandeur and squalor of Tsargrad is reflected in the sparkling smoothness of this strait. Summer residences and elegant palaces, which are scattered haphazardly along the shores, peacefully neighbouring with dilapidated villages inhabited by fishermen. Only occasionally the impression created by the ancient buildings is destroyed by the steel sheen of modern skyscrapers.
There is an ancient Greek myth associated with the name of this strait: Zeus fell in love with Io, a priestess of Hera, who was the daughter of King Inachus. The spouse of loving Zeus for this turned Io into a cow and put a terrible hornet on her, from which Io tried in vain to escape. She was saved by the fact that she hid in the waters of the Bosphorus, which then received its name - "cow ford."
If we turn to the true, not imaginary history, we can learn that the first to build a bridge across the strait was the Persian king Darius, who crossed the Bosphorus seven hundred thousand army on a temporary bridge, which consisted of rafts, thrown from ship to ship. The current inhabitants of Turkey are proud of their bridge across the strait. At the time of its construction, many people said that the bridge would spoil the silhouette of the city and the beauty of the Bosphorus. But despite this, the bridge, built in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, among the great monuments of history, along with its mosques and palaces, was able to fit harmoniously into the curves of the surrounding hills.
The current theory is that the Bosphorus Strait was formed around 5600 BC as a result of the melting of large masses of ice and snow at the end of the last ice age, due to a sharp rise in water levels. In just a matter of days, a powerful stream made its way from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea, which at the time was a freshwater lake. On the underwater slopes of the Black Sea coast of Turkey, recent archaeological research has discovered submerged cities. Most likely, it was the formation of the Bosphorus that gave rise to the myth of the Flood and Noah's Ark. By the way, relatively nearby, in Eastern Anatolia, is Mount Ararat.
To fully experience what the Bosphorus Strait is all about, you should take a fascinating walk along the strait aboard any tourist boat in the Karakoy neighbourhood. A walk along the Bosphorus Strait is an indescribable pleasure. You will see the whole of Istanbul with its inherent grandeur and pathos. Once you are on board a pleasure boat in the evening, you can try to look into the very soul of the "miracle of miracles" - the ancient Greek name of Constantinople.
The city at sunset seems to put on its most beautiful mask. In the crowdedness of departing ferries, crowded ships, the roar of trumpets in the setting sun, one can watch the city light up its marvellous lights on the hills. The voices of the muezzins are heard. It is said that in the olden days blind heralds were often taken for evening prayers, so that they would not be confused by the beauty of the coming night. The Hagia Sophia towers over the city like the mast of a ship, giving it an ethereal, enchanting view from the Bosphorus.
Nothing is more breathtaking than the Bosphorus in the evening. Tinted with the scarlet colour of the setting sun, the Bosphorus strait and the city put on a special mask, mysterious and enchanting.
During a walk you can learn a lot about the inner, hidden life of the Bosphorus. The Turks call the swift flow of the strait "Sheitan akantısı", which translates as "devil's current". "Sheitan" especially begins to run rampant with the onset of spring and the melting of the snows in the Danube basin. At this time, the strait current reaches its maximum speed. Blue streams of water arrow along the shores, which leads to the boiling of water as in a cauldron in the narrowest parts of the strait. The Bosphorus also has a "double bottom" - it is the so-called "lower current", which goes from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea in the opposite direction. It turns out that the Bosphorus is a contradictory "being" flowing in two opposite directions at the same time. The harbour quarter is an amazing place where life doesn't seem to stop for a minute. There is a small market near the passenger pier where you can buy freshly caught fish. Amidst all this traffic and bustle, it is quite difficult not to get confused and lost.
The monstrous ruins of the crenellated walls of the dilapidated Rumeli Hisar tower stare bleakly from Europe to Asia and to the other side, where the Anadolu Hisarı fortress is located. This is the narrowest point of the Bosphorus - only about 650 metres. This is where Europe comes closest to Asia. Istanbul is located on two continents that define its face. The centre of the city has always been in Europe, while the coast of Asia has for a long time remained just the outskirts. Now everything has changed exactly the opposite - the European coast is covered with antiquity and neglect, while the Asian coast can be proud of its clean, modern neighbourhoods. Nowhere else do the two continents meet so closely, as if looking into each other's eyes. It should be noted that this strait is probably the narrowest in the world. The Bosphorus is six hundred metres narrower than the Dardanelles.
Ships sometimes have to squeeze through, barely warming up when passing through the Bosphorus. The traffic flow in the strait is very tight. The fact that the Bosphorus Strait has international status results in ships from all over the world travelling in both forward and reverse directions. Even a small mistake in passing the fairway can be disastrous. The wrecks of sunken tankers decorate this treacherous strait from time to time.
The main task at the marina is not to get confused in the numerous intricately woven berths, separately allocated for all specific directions.
