The Bosporus The Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, is a narrow waterway that divides the European and Asian continents within Turkey. Its name is derived from the ancient Greek myth of Io, a woman transformed into a cow by the goddess Hera after Hera discovered that her husband, Zeus, was unfaithful. In the myth, Hera sent a horsefly to continuously torment Io as punishment for Zeus’s betrayal. The small streams that flow into the Bosphorus were called "bous" due to their shape, which is believed to resemble Io’s form as a cow. Legend says Io spent time on both sides of the strait, finally finding peace after crossing it one last time. The Bosphorus is recognized as the world’s narrowest strait that serves international maritime traffic. It links the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, which then connects to the Dardanelles and Aegean Seas, eventually leading to the Mediterranean Sea through Greece. Stretching about 30 kilometers in length, the width of the strait ranges from 700 to 3,700 meters. Water depth varies between 36 and 124 meters depending on the area. The metropolis of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with a population exceeding 16 million, is located along the banks of the Bosphorus. Two major bridges span the strait: the Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (also referred to as the Bosphorus II). If you have any questions or need further information about The Bosphorus, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or simply message us on Whatsapp, and we will reply as quickly as possible.