The Bosphorus

I’ve been fascinated by the Bosphorus since I started reading Agatha Christie. I think the Orient Express stops at the Bosphorus and everybody gets off the train and on the boat, to re-join the train at the other side. It takes a wee while to load Kenneth Brannagh’s moustache I presume.

The Tasch probably had to go through quarantine.

However, the Bosphorus Strait is obviously an ‘internationally significant waterway’ in Turkey. It cuts through the city of Istanbul, joining the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, as well as defining the boundary between Asia and Europe.

My friend did have a picture of himself standing in the middle of one of the bridges over the Bosphorus- one foot in Asia, one foot in Europe and was going to send me a copy for the blog but we got talking about writing and book sales instead. 

 The population of Istanbul is 17 million, many of them along the banks of the waterway, before the urban area extends inland.

We had sailed there through the Dardanelles. Which is better than getting there by being in the Doldrums.  I do like jokes like that  - 'So where is the pain exactly?' 'Oh I get it bad in the Dardanelles!'

The most dangerous road in Scotland is called the Bealach Na Ba, The passing of the cattle. The Bosphorus means exactly the same thing.

In Greek mythological, there is the story of Io, who had been transformed into a cow, and she was exiled to wander aimlessly round the Earth. One day she crossed the Bosporus and on the other side she met Titan Prometheus. He told her that Zeus would restore her to a human and that her bloodline would eventually produce Hercules. Io came ashore near Üsküdar, which was named Bous, 'the Cow'.  And from Bous comes Bosphorus.

As the song says, Istanbul was Constantinople (The city of Constantine), and the waterway was known as the "Strait of Constantinople". It connects Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic, the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal. It’s vital for the exportation of goods from Russia.

Some numbers? Depth varies from 13m to 110 m. The water at the surface is fresh, saltwater underneath. Researchers at the University of Leeds School of Earth describe the water movement as the 'Black Sea undersea river'. I love the fact that they used a robotic yellow submarine to investigate and prove their theory.

Sorry for the ear worm.

There’s no limit to ships with regard to length or depth. Those over 150 metres, or more than 10 metres deep must pre-book their passage.  If they are 300 metres plus long (ours was 330m), they must have special clearance.

We spent an hour watching the cruise boat behind us pull out, turn 90 degrees, set off at a slow speed but didn’t move very far. Then it stopped and didn’t get going again. Then the tugs came out and proceeded to push it and pull it, this way and that. We thought it had broken down, then we googled it, and it was a brand-new boat from Dubai, the Aroya, completing its sea trials before it took on passengers. It reminded me vaguely of an elephant doing dressage.

What struck me was how busy it was, and how all those boats avoid each other. A cruise boat with 7000 people aboard moves slowly left to right. Going right to left is a tiny craft, very low in the water, with one man, his hand on the outboard,  scooting along on the surface. There was a navy vessel on the far side from us, two small protection boats chasing away any other craft that came too near. They reminded me of wee Jack Russells, protecting their charge, yapping at the heels of any intruder. There’s a constant, seemingly chaotic business/busy ness of passenger ferries, vehicular ferries, recreational boats, fishing boats and boats used for floating discos, dining yachts, private dining yachts and very drunk women on a hen night type of boats with music blaring. That’s to say nothing of the freighters and tankers.

There’s also the fact of the two tight turns in the straits where great skill and local knowledge is needed to navigate large scale traffic safely. I have an (in) competent crew certificate, so I know a wee bit about sailing; enough to know that turning 45 degrees in an 8 knot current, in a busy waterway, where approaching ships have no clear vision of what’s round the corner, must have been very problematic in the past, no doubt much easier now with Sat Nav and GPS.

Think of a freeway/ motorway with lots of cars going from side to side as well along the length of the road, not necessarily in the correct lane. In the dark, with lots of differently coloured lights and loud disco music coming from an uncertain source. Then put a 45 degree turn in, with a hill in between so you can’t see what’s coming until you are there. That's kind of it.

I believe the Turkish Government were thinking about building a 50-mile canal running north–south as an alternative route from the Black Sea to the Marmara. They are still thinking about it.

It looks like the  start of a race.

And they are off!

Night falling.

 

Magical