The magnificent city of Istanbul is situated on the border of two continents, therefore the heart of the city can rightly be called the Bosphorus. The amazing beauty of the Bosphorus enchants its waters and contrasting removed shores. Next to fishing villages and modern skyscrapers located majestic palaces which depict the fate of the city - symbol plexus of luxury and poverty, ancient and modern.

Mirrored waters of the Bosphorus, betraying the charm of the old town, it is impossible not to compare. All the grandeur and squalor of Constantinople is reflected in the shiny surface of the Strait. Summer residence and elegant palaces that are scattered along the banks peacefully coexist with the old villages inhabited by fishermen. Only occasionally the impression created by ancient buildings, destroyed steel luster from modern skyscrapers.

With the name of this Strait linked to the ancient Greek myth: Zeus fell in love with IO, priestess of Hera, who was the daughter of the king of Inaho. Wife loving Zeus for it turned IO into a cow and gave her a terrible hornet, from which IO tried in vain to escape. Rescued her that she hid in the waters of the Bosphorus, which then received its name — "cow Ford".

If we turn to real, not an imaginary story, we can see that the first, who built a bridge across the Strait, was the Persian king Darius, crossed through the Bosphorus semiotician army on a temporary bridge, which consisted of rafts thrown from ship to ship. The current inhabitants of Turkey are proud of their bridge across the Strait. At a time when it began, many said that the bridge can ruin the silhouette of the city and the beauty of the Bosphorus. But, despite this, the bridge, built in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, among the great monuments of history, along with its mosques and palaces, was able to fit into the curves of the surrounding hills.

Current theory says that the Bosporus was formed about 5600 BC due to the melting of large masses of ice and snow at the end of the last ice age, due to a sharp increase in water level. In just a few days a powerful stream struck the road from the Mediterranean sea to the Black sea, representing at that time a freshwater lake. On the submarine slopes of the Black sea coast of Turkey during the recent archaeological researches were found submerged towns. Most likely, the formation of the Bosphorus was the reason for the emergence of the myth of the great flood and Noah's Ark. Speaking of which, relatively nearby, in Eastern Anatolia, is mount Ararat.

To fully experience what the Bosphorus, you need to take a fascinating walk along the Strait on Board any cruise ship in the neighborhood of Karakoy. Walk along the Bosphorus Strait – the pleasure is indescribable. Your eyes will appear all Istanbul with its inherent grandeur and pathos. Once in the evening aboard the pleasure boat, you can try to look into the very soul of "miracle of miracles" - the ancient Greek name of Constantinople.

The city at sunset dresses her like the most beautiful mask. In the cramped outgoing ferries, crowded ships, the roar of the pipes at the setting sun you can watch as the city lights up your wonderful lights on the hills. Hear the voices of muezzins. Rumor has it that for evening prayers in the old days often took the blind criers that they were not deterred by the beauty of the coming night. Aya Sofya, like a ship mast, towers over the city and gives it an unearthly enchanting view of the Bosphorus.

There's nothing more exciting than the Bosphorus in the evening. Painted scarlet color of the setting sun, the Bosphorus and the city, wear a special mask, mysterious and enchanting.

During the walk you can learn a lot about the inner, hidden life of the Bosphorus. The Turks call the rapid flow of the Strait "Sheytan acentesi", which translates as "the devil within. "Sheitan" especially begins to rage with the onset of spring and the melting snow in the Danube basin. At this time, the speed of light and reaches for Strait. Blue rivers of water boom start laying along the banks, which leads to boiling of water in the boiler at the narrowest sections. There is still the Bosphorus "double bottom" is the so - called "downstream", which comes from the Marmara sea to the Black sea in the opposite direction. It turns out that the Bosphorus is a contradictory creature current simultaneously in two opposite directions. Port quarter is an amazing place where, it seems, life does not stop for a minute. Near the passenger pier is a small market where you can buy freshly caught fish. Among all the traffic and bustle is quite difficult not to get lost and not get lost.

Monstrous ruins of battlements crumbling towers of Rumeli Hisar sadly look from Europe to Asia and to the other Bank where is situated the fortress of Anadolu Hisari. This is the narrowest point of Bosphorus - a total of about 650 meters. Here is the closest Europe is coming to Asia. Istanbul is situated on two continents, defining his face. The centre has always been in Europe, Asia and the shore for a long time remained only the outskirts. Now everything has changed exactly the opposite European shore was covered with old and desolate, and Asian can be proud of its clean and modern quarters. Nowhere else do not converge so close to two of the continent, as if looking into each other's eyes. It should be noted that this Strait is considered to be perhaps the narrowest in the world. The Bosphorus by as much as six hundred meters already Dardanelles.

The courts sometimes have to literally squeeze through, barely stretching while passing through the Bosphorus. The traffic in the Strait is very hard. The fact that the Bosphorus has an international status, leads to the fact that vessels from all over the world operate in forward and reverse directions. Even a small error with the passage of the fairway can be a disaster. Skeletons of sunken tankers decorate from time to time this perfidious Strait.

The main task at the Marina is not to get lost in the many cunningly devised berths, separately allocated for each of the defined areas.