Bosphorus

An evocative portrait of a waterway like no other—a strait that rose from myth and mystery to become the hub of the Ottoman Empire. At the heart of Istanbul, separating its European and Asian shores, lies the Bosphorus. One of the world’s greatest waterways, its spectacular landscape has been extolled by writers, from Lord Byron to Virginia Woolf. It was home to the Sultan and his entourage throughout the nineteenth century—and, indeed, to anybody who was anybody. But when Turkey’s young Republic chose Ankara as its capital in 1923, silence fell over the Bosphorus’s palaces and mansions, their once powerful residents forced into exile. Amid such upheaval, its banks were resettled, with industry and modern housing elbowing out the greenery. Today’s Bosphorus is reinventing itself again, as waterside mansions are rebuilt and crumbling industrial heritage is repurposed for tourism. Pat Yale tells the thrilling story of the Bosphorus—one of rulers and nobles, pilgrims and saints, but also of labourers, fishermen and boatmen. Above all, this is a story of water. What better way to explore it than from the decks of its many ferries?