About The Bosphorus

The Bosphorus is a natural strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and eventually, through the Dardanelles strait, with the Mediterranean. It separates parts of Asian Turkey (Anatolia) from European Turkey.

Significance of the Strait

It has played a major role in the maritime world for centuries. It is a very busy waterway with many ships and oil tankers going through it. It is heavily fished since it is a two-way passage for fish, acting as an ecological tunnel between the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Legend of the Bosphorus

Bosphorus comes from a Thracian word meaning “passage of the cow” and is traditionally connected with the legendary figure of Io who was one of the many lovers of Zeus. When Hera, the wife of Zeus, became suspicious, Zeus in haste to hide his affair transformed Io into a cow. He sent her away from Hera’s rage. Io swam across the strait but Hera sent flies to sting and bother Io all the time, ending Io in the Aegean Sea, thus named Ionian Sea.

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