A Tale of Two Bridges on the Bosphorus

06.07.2015

The Bosphorus Strait is like no natural body of water that I have been on. It is like a very wide (between 1km and 3.5 km) and very long (32km) natural canal that both separates eastern europe and western asia, and forms part of a connection between the Mediterranean and Black seas. A boat ride, with a couple of hundred other tourists, from the Golden Horn estuary to the "second bridge" was a comfortable and cheap ($6) way to experience a good chunk of what lies along the banks of this impressive waterway. The boat had a cafe on board and a waiter bearing a tray containing cold drinks as well as my favourite hot tea served the Turkish way in an elegant glass on a saucer did the rounds every 20 minutes or so. They also had a commentary over speakers which pointed out and explained a few facts about various sights as we passed them. The most impressive sights for me were the two suspension bridges that crossed the straits. They were major examples of engineering having over a kilometer of 4 lane highway suspended between the uprights on either side, and also being so high above the water to allow for ocean-going ships to pass beneath. My shuttle bus to the airport crossed over by the first bridge and it was an amazing slightly scary experience when you realized that the road you were on was being held up in the air by a few steel cables. The second most impressive sight was the Rumelihisari castle built by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed in 1451, before he conquered Constantinople and changed the name to Istanbul. It was built to gain control of the Bosphorus and stop reinforcements coming via the Black Sea when his plans to attack Constantinople took place. Today it is a museum and easily accessed from Istanbul by road. It lies just south of the second bridge. The sultan also built a smaller fortress called the Anatolian castle on the Asian side of the straits, and this can also be seen from the water. Apart from many impressive palaces and homes of the very wealthy, that line the banks on both sides, there are the ubiquitous mosques of all sizes and a surprising amount of green hilly woodlands to be seen on the asian side which doesn't seem to be as built up with waterside suburbs as the european side. The other really impressive sight was the Dolmabahce Palace. This palace built by Sultan Abdulmecid in the 1840's, cost so much money to build ( 1.5 billion) that it was the reason the Ottoman empire collapsed and slid into a state of bankruptcy, subject to control by the European powers that loaned the Sultan the money. (Nothing new under the sun....Greece?) It is a palace I will go and visit if I return to Istanbul ( no photos put me off). The palace has 265 rooms, 46 halls, 6 bathhouses, and 68 toilets. However these aren't normal rooms, they are furnished and decorated to the height of luxury, extensively with gold and crystal and fine porcelain. The ceilings alone used 14 tonnes of gold in the form of gold leaf. One of the halls holds the worlds largest Bohemian crystal chandelier, which weighs 4.5 tonnes and was a gift to the sultan from Queen Victoria. There is even a huge crystal staircase made of crystal, brass and mahogany. French style furniture and oriental carpets fill every room. Even the outside areas are elegant and over the top special so it is on my list of places to see next time......

waiting to leave