Boat Ride on the Bosphorus Strait

Welcome to Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul is a major city nestled between Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. The old city reflects the cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled. It’s also been the middle-man in resolving many disputes between countries. Istanbul contains three seas: the Golden Horn, the Bosporus, and the Sea of Marmara. In today’s post, I’m going to share all about our boat ride adventures on the Bosphorus Strait.

The Bosphorus Strait 

Bosphorus is a channel of water that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, which makes it an important waterway. It was a river in the valley during the Tertiary period of the continents, which was drowned by the sea at the end of this period. It’s 20 miles long and 800-3600 yards wide. The strait separates the European part from the Asian part of Istanbul. However, both sides still belong to Turkey.  

Boat Ride

We took a super fun boat ride on the Bosphorus Strait. We were able to see a majority of their major landmarks from the water including the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, and various hotels. A couple of the massive hotels we saw were the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton. The water was freezing, so we stayed on the boat the whole time.

We got to go to the Black Sea, which was given its name during the Ottoman Empire period. During that time, the Black Sea was called names such as Bahr-e-Siyah or Karadeniz, which means “the Black Sea” in Ottoman Turkish. One of the most interesting facts about the Black Sea is that it’s anoxic. This means that there is a significant absence of oxygen in the water. Because of this, there’s not a lot of sea life present.

On the way back to shore, we noticed there were thousands of jellyfish all around the boat. And I literally mean thousands, as you can see in the photos above. According to our tour guide, they aren’t the type of jellyfish that will sting you. They aren’t dangerous, which was comforting given the fact our boat was surrounded by them! Also on our way back, we saw huge bridges that were lit up with fun, bright colors.

Should You Plan a Boat Ride?

I would highly recommend taking this boat ride in Istanbul. We had a great time and made some unforgettable memories. Our tour guide showed us so many cool sights and gave us a lot of interesting information about the water and surrounding landmarks. Although the water was too cold to swim in, we enjoyed being on the boat just as much. Thanks for reading along. If you have any further questions or would just like to reach out, you can message me here.