Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

You can swim between two continents, from Asia to Europe.  The Turkish Olympic Committee is organizing a swimming event on the Bosporus in Istanbul July.  This will not be an easy ride, because the Bosporus’s currents and strength will make the 6.5 km long journey a big challenge.

Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

On Sunday, July 19 it will be the 21st time for the international European / Asian swimming event on the Bosporus. The swimming event is a very special happening. Besides the swimming event, there are also rowing and sailing.

Everyone 14 or over can participate in the event. During the first time there were 70 participants at the waterfront. Last year there were as many as 500 (this year 750) people participating.

The recreational game is scheduled between 10.00-13.00. No ships or ferries are allowed on the Bosporus during the swimming.

Contestants who are in the first three places in their categories at the Bosphorus 2009 International Swimming Competions are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.

www.olimpiyatkomitesi.org.tr

Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

Two fortresses, constructed halfway up the Bosphorus on opposite shores, stand facing each other. These, built by the Turks, and the other earlier fortresses on the hills near the Black Sea, are military installations indicating the strategic importance of the Bosphorus in every age. Viewed from the Sea of Marmara end, where the historic city looks most impressive, the Bosphorus appears like a small bay. The rest of the 30 kilometre-long stretch upto the Black Sea appears as consecutive lakes. The first suspension bridge across the Bosphorus was completed in 1973 and the second one in 1988. Only an aerial-view shows that the Bosphorus is actually a strait.

The Bosphorus is a unique “sea-river”. The less saline waters of the Black Sea flow towards the Sea of Marmara on the surface, while below the surface, there is another current flowing in the opposite direction. Due to these strong surface currents and the lack of roads, there were few settlements along its shores up until the end of the last century. In the 19lh century, besides the small villages, imperial palaces and the summer residences of the wealthy as well as foreign embassies started to appear along its shores. Today, the residential districts along the shores, served by modern roads, suspension bridges and ferry boats, are included within the borders of the metropolis. The strait, which was a river valley in the Ice Age, has a rich marine fauna. It has an average depth of 50 metres and a maximum depth of 112 metres. It is famous for the different kinds of fish caught along its shores as well as in the seas nearby. Different species of fish migrate through these waters seasonally.

Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

The name “Bosphorus” is derived from mythology and it means the “Cow’s Passage”. Since it is an easily traversed passage, it facilitated the development of trade and other relations between civilizations in Asia and Europe.

The Bosphorus, its extension, the Golden Horn and the peninsula on which the historic city of Istanbul developed, have been the most sought after location in the world during the last 2,500 years. The campaign of the Argonauts to the Black Sea is the first mythological story about the Bosphorus.
In the 6th century B.C., the Persian armies, in order to cross the Bosphorus easily, tied their boats together side by side, thus forming the first bridge on the Bosphorus. During the “Retrent of Ten Thousands” of Xenophon in the 5th century B.C., their race for Byzantium was mentioned as a very important event.

Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

Leander’s Tower is at the entrance to the Bosphorus, and Dolmabahçe Palace is on the shore opposite Üsküdar. The Çırağan Palace Hotel, along with the Bosphorus Bridge are seen a little further up. The 1,074 metre-long section of the suspension bridge links the two continents. Ortaköy Mosque is next to the foot of the bridge on the European side and Beylerbeyi Palace is next to the foot of the bridge on the Asian Side. Therefore, one gets a chance to see both contemporary and old monuments side by side. Villa Bosphorus, (near Beylerbeyi Palace) where the tours on the Asian shores and the cruises on the Bosphorus stop for a brief rest and shopping, offers a splendid view of Bosphorus Bridge.

Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

Old seaside mansions next to modern residences line both shores of the Bosphorus bordered by hills adorned with different tones of green.

The wide, yellow building with two towers, seen after the first bridge, on the Asian shore going towards the Black Sea, is the famous Kuleli Military Lycee (19′h century). The Bay of Bebek is a natural yacht harbour, and the 20th century mosque on the seashore is a small structure exhibiting classical elements. The Bosphorus is a winding waterway which, at each turn, looks like a lake. Its narrowest point, nearly halfway towards the Black Sea, is approximately 800 metres wide. The second bridge on the Bosphorus was completed in 1988 and named after Fatih Sultan Mehmed.