The Golden Horn Bay is one of the best and most natural harbours in the world. In the past, Byzantine and Ottoman merchant ships and warships were stationed here. Today, landscaped parks and pedestrian pavements stretch along the shores.
The Golden Horn Harbour is a curved-shaped bay of the Bosphorus that runs deep into the land. This bay is 12.2 kilometres long, 91-122 metres wide and 47 metres deep. Two streams flow into the bay in its western part: the Ali-bey-su, called the ancient Kidaros, and the Kiat-khane-su, the ancient Barbises. The European part of Istanbul, one of the largest cities in Turkey, is located on both banks. Four bridges span the bay - the Galata Bridge, the Old Galata Bridge, which is no longer in use, the Ataturk Bridge and the Halic Bridge.
The Golden Horn Bay is protected from all disturbances and winds except stormy ones. Between Cape Tigrovy and Cape Goldobina, 1.2 miles away, it runs deep into the northern shore of the Bosphorus-East Strait. The bay is bounded by the Shkota Peninsula to the north-west. This shore of Zolotoy Rog Bay is very hilly, and its southern part is steep and shallow throughout. The northern, southern and eastern shores of the bay are elevated, but in some places also have precipices and are framed by a low and very narrow coastal strip, which has been artificially levelled and in some places widened for harbour facilities. The coast of the top of the bay is low. It is approached by a valley through which the Explanation River flows.
Somewhere around seven thousand years ago, the waters of the Bosphorus and the rivers Kagytkhane and Alibey, still flowing into the Golden Horn (its northern part), merged and a natural harbour was formed. For centuries, the Golden Horn or Altin Boynuz has been called one of the best natural harbours in the world. The waters of this bay, which indeed resembles a horn in shape, were full of fish, and the very fertile land along the shores of the harbour produced very rich harvests. The bay was often called the Horn of Plenty, and it is also believed that this bay was named by Byzantine himself in honour of his mother, whose name was Keroessa, because in Greek the Golden Horn sounds like Chrysokeras. There is, however, another interesting legend that says that under the rays of the shining sun the waters of the bay sparkle with real gold. The current Turkish name of the Golden Horn is Halic (halic, which means "bay" in Turkish). The full name of this harbour comes from the Ottoman Halic-i Dersaadet, which means "bay of the gates of bliss".
The summer weather in Golden Horn Bay is very variable. South and south-east winds prevail here, it often rains and fogs appear. In autumn and winter, winds from the north and north-west predominate. They bring dry and clear weather with a large drop in air temperature and an increase in atmospheric pressure. Fogs in the Zolotoy Rog harbour can be observed from April to August. They are most often seen in June and July. Fogs, as a rule, appear here when south-easterly winds blow. When there is a complete calm, they can be seen much less frequently. The winds blowing in autumn and winter are very long and can sometimes reach speeds of 6-8 m/s and more, while in spring and summer the wind speed is slightly less.
In the districts of Fener and Balat, which are nestled in the heart of the Golden Horn Bay, there are numerous streets of old houses and churches, synagogues, built in the era of the Ottoman and Byzantine empires. The shores of the Golden Horn Bay are fortified, almost all along its length, with walls. They are equipped with piers and moorings. The depth at the entrance to the Golden Horn ranges from 20 to 27 metres and then, towards the top of the bay, it gradually decreases. The ground in the bay is silt.
When the Turks came here, the shores of the Golden Horn became a popular place for recreation. Here began to build rich mansions and summer residences. But, despite this, on these lands over time began to appear a large number of workshops and factories. Uncontrolled industrial development gradually led to terrible environmental pollution and the waters of the Golden Horn turned into a real cloaca. The city's sewage and industrial waste were dumped here by everyone who was not lazy. The situation changed for the better only in the 1980s. The Istanbul Municipality decided to restore this ancient neighbourhood to its former beauty. Nowadays, green cosy parks and its coastal neighbourhoods are once again spread along the shores of the Golden Horn, still preserving the wooden houses built in the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, synagogues and churches, and the sunset again covers the waters of this beautiful bay with gold.
