Information AboutBosporus |
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| straits of asia | |
| straits of europe | |
| landforms of turkey | |
| ancient greek geography | |
| mediterranean | |
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]] as seen from Rumelihisarı ]] The Bosporus or '''Bosphorus''', also known as the ''Istanbul Strait'', ( that forms the boundary between the Europe an part ( Rumelia ) of Turkey and its Asia n part ( Anatolia ). The world's narrowest strait used for International Navigation , it connects the Black Sea with the Sea Of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea , and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea ). It is approximately 30 Km long, with a maximum width of 3,700 Metre s at the northern entrance, and a minimum width of 700 metres between Kandilli and Aşiyan; and 750 metres between Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı. The depth varies from 36 to 124 metres in midstream. The shores of the strait are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul (with a metropolitan area in excess of 11 million inhabitants) straddles it. Two Bridge s cross the Bosporus. The first, the Bosphorus Bridge , is 1074 metres long and was completed in 1973 . The second, Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Bosphorus II) Bridge , is 1090 metres long, and was completed in 1988 about five kilometres north of the first bridge. A third road bridge is also being planned for one of seven locations designated by the Turkish Government. The location is being kept secret to avoid an early explosion in land prices. Another crossing, Marmaray , is a 13.7 kilometre-long Rail Tunnel currently under construction and expected to be completed in 2008 . Approximately 1,400 metres of the tunnel will run under the strait, at a depth of about 55 metres. ASSOCIATIONS neighbourhood from the hills of the Bosporus]] ) stretch along the coasts of the Bosporus, such as the "yalı" of Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha (Mehmed Emin Pasha the Cypriot )]] s'' in Arnavutköy on the Bosporus]] The name comes from the is from ''bous'' (: ''ox'')Entry: at Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, 1940, ''A Greek-English Lexicon''. and ''poros'' (: ''passage, strait''),Entry: at Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, 1940, ''A Greek-English Lexicon''. thus meaning "''oxen passage''", which could reflect the older history of the region. The Greeks wrongly analysed it as ''" of Io's travels after Zeus turned her into an Ox for her protection.Aeschylus, ''Prometheus Bound'', 733. It has also been thought to be a Thracian form of ''Phôsphoros'' (''Φωσφόρος''), 'light-bearing', an epithet of the goddess Hecate . It is also said in myth that floating rocks known as the Symplegades or Clashing Rocks once crushed any ship that attempted passage of the Bosporus until the hero Jason obtained passage, whereupon the rocks became fixed, and Greek access to the Black Sea was opened. FORMATION OF THE BOSPORUS See Also: Black Sea deluge theory on the Bosporus]] The exact cause for the formation of the Bosporus remains the subject of vigorous debate among geologists. Thousands of years ago, the Black Sea became disconnected from the Aegean Sea . One recent theory (published in 1997 by William Ryan and Walter Pitman from Columbia University ) contends that the Bosporus was formed about 5600 BCE when the rising waters of the Mediterranean/ Sea Of Marmara breached through to the Black Sea , which at the time (according to the theory) was a low-lying body of fresh water. Some have argued that the resulting massive flooding of the inhabited and probably farmed northern shores of the Black Sea is thought to be the historic basis for the Flood Stories found in the '' Epic Of Gilgamesh '' and in the Bible in Genesis , Chapters 6-9. On the other hand, there is also evidence for a flood of water going in the opposite direction, from the Black Sea into the Sea Of Marmara around 7000 or 8000 BCE. ANCIENT GREECE, ROME, THE BYZANTINES AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ) and Asia ( Anadoluhisarı )"''. 19th century engraving by Thomas Allom .]] St. " (probably Sardis , but later identified with Spain). As the narrowest point of passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosporus has always been of great commercial and strategic importance. The Greek city-state of Athens in the 5th Century BC , which was dependent on grain imports from Scythia , therefore maintained critical alliances with cities which controlled the straits, such as the Megarian colony Byzantium . The strategic significance of the strait was one of the factors in the decision of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great to found there in 330 AD his new capital, Constantinople , which came to be known as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire . On May 29, 1453 it was conquered by the emerging Ottoman Empire . In fact, as the Ottoman Turks closed in on Constantinople, they constructed a fortification on each side of the strait, Anadoluhisarı ( 1393 ) and Rumelihisarı ( 1451 ). They later renamed the city Istanbul . STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE The strategic importance of the Bosporus remains high, and control over it has been an objective of a number of hostilities in modern history, notably the , is exported by tankers to western Europe and the U.S. via the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits. SIGHTSEEING The cheapest way to experience Bosphorus in Istanbul would be to take one of the public ferries that travel between the Anatolian and Rumelian sides of the city. They depart every 45 minutes, and cost 1.3 YTL (about 0.80 Euros). There are also faster ferries that take off every 10 minutes, but the slower ones will give you more opportunity to see the city. One can also take a ride on a variety of tourist ships, from modern ones to Ottoman style ones. SEE ALSO NOTES
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