The Bosphorus

Crossroads of trade and culture, boundary between East and West—the Bosphorus is a waterway like no other. This evocative portrait brings it to life.

Right at the heart of Istanbul, separating its European and Asian shores, the Bosphorus is not just one of the world’s greatest waterways. It is also one of its most magical—a strait that rose from myth and mystery to become the political hub of the Ottoman Empire, home to the sultan and his entourage and, indeed, to anybody who was anybody.

Its spectacular landscape, draped in green and blue, was extolled by every visiting writer, from Lord Byron to Virginia Woolf. But when the new Republic of Turkey chose Ankara as its capital in 1923, silence fell over the Bosphorus’ palaces and mansions, many of their once powerful residents forced into exile. In a twentieth century marked by poverty, uncertainty and social upheaval, its banks were resettled, and industry and mass housing elbowed out the greenery. But as the twenty-first century brings new challenges and possibilities, waterside manors are being rebuilt and the crumbling industrial heritage repurposed.

The story of the Bosphorus is one of rulers and nobles, pilgrims and saints—but also of labourers, fishermen and boatmen. Above all, it is a story about water. What better way to explore it than from the decks of its ferries?