But there are a few details that not everyone knows👀
1️⃣A river effectively flows beneath the Bosphorus
The strait has two opposing currents. The upper layer of water flows from the Black Sea towards the Sea of Marmara, while saltier water travels in the opposite direction at depth, from the Sea of Marmara into the Black Sea.
Water in the Bosphorus therefore moves in two directions at once.
2️⃣Parts of the Bosphorus are narrower than they appear in photographs
The strait is approximately 30 km long. Its width varies from several kilometres to around 700 metres at its narrowest point, between the Rumelihisarı and Anadoluhisarı fortresses.
3️⃣It is an entire transport system
Today, bridges are not the only way to cross the Bosphorus. The Marmaray railway tunnel and the Eurasia road tunnel run beneath it. Three major bridges cross above the water.
4️⃣The Bosphorus was once the gateway to the Black Sea
Even in antiquity, the strait was an essential route between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Fortresses and trading settlements appeared on its shores because controlling the Bosphorus meant controlling one of the region's principal sea routes.
5️⃣The name Bosphorus is linked to a myth
It comes from the ancient Greek Bosporos, literally meaning a cow's crossing.
According to the ancient myth, Io, transformed into a cow by Zeus, crossed this strait. Istanbul's geography is thus unexpectedly connected with Greek mythology.
6️⃣Perhaps most interestingly, the Bosphorus made Istanbul a city of two continents
It shaped the city's way of life: ferries between Europe and Asia, fishing boats alongside giant ships, morning tea overlooking the water, waterfront villas, historic districts and modern business centres.
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