Description of the attraction
The magnificent city of Istanbul is located on the border of two continents, so the Bosphorus can rightfully be called the heart of the city. The amazing beauty of the Bosphorus Strait enchants with its waters and contrastingly trimmed shores. In the vicinity of fishing villages and modern skyscrapers, there are majestic palaces that perfectly reflect the fate of the city - a symbol of the interweaving of luxury and poverty, antiquity and modernity.
The mirror-like waters of the Bosphorus, betraying the charm of the old city, cannot be compared to anything else. All the greatness and squalor of Constantinople is reflected in the sparkling surface of this strait. Summer residences and graceful palaces, which are scattered randomly along the banks, peacefully coexist with decrepit villages inhabited by fishermen. Only occasionally is the impression created by ancient buildings destroyed by the steel sheen of modern skyscrapers.
An ancient Greek myth is associated with the name of this strait: Zeus fell in love with Io, the priestess of Hera, who was the daughter of King Inach. For this, the wife of the loving Zeus turned Io into a cow and sent a terrible hornet on her, from which Io tried in vain to escape. She was rescued by the fact that she hid in the waters of the Bosphorus, which after that got its name - "cow ford".
If we turn to the true, not imaginary history, then we can find out that the first to build a bridge across the strait was the Persian king Darius, who ferried an army of 700,000 across the Bosphorus over a temporary bridge, which consisted of rafts thrown from ship to ship. The current residents of Turkey are proud of their bridge across the strait. At the time when they began to build it, many said that the bridge could spoil the silhouette of the city and all the charm of the Bosphorus. But, despite this, the bridge, built in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, among the great historical monuments, along with its mosques and palaces, was able to harmoniously fit into the convolutions of the surrounding hills.
The current theory is that the Bosphorus 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 the water level. In just a few days, a powerful stream broke the road from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, which was a freshwater lake at that time. Submerged cities have been discovered on the underwater slopes of Turkey's Black Sea coast during recent archaeological research. 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 is, you need to take an exciting walk along the strait on board any tourist boat in the Karakoy quarter. A walk along the Bosphorus is an indescribable pleasure. Your eyes will see the whole of Istanbul with its inherent grandeur and pathos. Once 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 be putting on its most beautiful mask. In the tightness of departing ferries, crowded ships, the roar of pipes in the setting sun, one can observe how the city lights its wonderful lights on the hills. The voices of the muezzins are heard. Rumor has it that in the old days blind heralds were often taken for evening prayers, so that they would not be embarrassed by the charm of the coming night. Hagia Sophia, like the mast of a ship, rises above the city and gives it an unearthly enchanting view from the Bosphorus.
Nothing is more exciting than the Bosphorus in the evening. Painted with the scarlet color of the setting sun, the Bosphorus and the city, they put on a special mask, mysterious and enchanting.
During the walk, you can learn a lot about the inner, hidden life of the Bosphorus. The Turks call the rapid flow of the strait "Sheitan akantysy", which translates as "devilish current." "Sheitan" especially begins to rage with the onset of spring, and the melting of snow in the Danube basin. At this time, the current of the strait also reaches its maximum speed. Blue streams of water begin to rush along the banks like an arrow, which leads to boiling water like in a boiler in its narrowest sections. The Bosphorus also has a "double bottom" - this 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 simultaneously in two opposite directions. The port quarter is an amazing place where it seems that life does not stop for a minute. There is a small market near the passenger pier where you can buy freshly caught fish. In the midst of all this movement and bustle, it is quite difficult not to get confused and not get lost.
The monstrous ruins of the battlements of the dilapidated tower of Rumeli Hisar look sadly from Europe to Asia and to the other side, where the Anadolu Hisary fortress is located. This is the narrowest part of the Bosphorus - only about 650 meters. Here Europe comes closest to Asia. Istanbul is located on two continents that define its face. The city center has always been in Europe, and the coast of Asia for a long time remained only a suburb. Now everything has changed exactly the opposite - the European coast is covered with antiquity and desolation, and the Asian one can be proud of its clean modern quarters. Nowhere else do two continents converge so closely, as if looking into each other's eyes. It should be noted that this strait is considered, perhaps, the narrowest in the world. The Bosphorus is six hundred meters narrower than the Dardanelles.
Ships sometimes have to literally squeeze through, barely warming up when passing along the Bosphorus. Traffic in the strait is very tight. The fact that the Bosphorus has an international status leads to the fact that ships from all over the world ply in the forward and backward directions. Even the smallest mistake in passing the fairway can be a disaster. Wrecks of sunken tankers adorn this treacherous strait from time to time.
The main task at the marina is not to get lost in the numerous intricate marinas, which are separately set aside for all specific directions.
