The the Bosphorus (in Turkish Boğaziçi , in Greek Βόσπορος) is the Détroit which connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and marks, with the Dardanelles, the southernmost limit between the continents Asian and European. It is long of approximately 30 kilometers for a width from 550 to 3000 meters.
According to a popular etymology, its name would mean “passage of the cow” (of Βοῦς, the cow, and πόρος, the passage) and referred to the history of Io, young girl loved of Zeus, changed by him into Vache, and continued by a Taon sent by Héra jealous. In fact, the first term ( boil ) would be rather to bring closer to the verbs buō and buzō (this last term being itself probably at the origin of the toponym Buzantion , the antique Byzance, current Istanbul) and meaning “to tighten”. Thus, the Bosphorus would be a “tightened passage”. We know moreover than this strait separates the two parts of Istanbul, city founded at the same time in Asia and Europe.
Water of the Bosphorus is paradoxically classified in international maritime Domaine and free of access. The traffic is there one of most important in the world and cross there many Tanker S transporting the oil of the Black Sea. In 2003, 47.000 ships forwarded in the strait, of which more than 8000 transported a dangerous cargo, generally of the Gaz liquefied or Pétrole. The traffic reached some 53.000 ships In 2004.
Current violent ones traverse it and its narrowness in certain places makes there navigation extremely dangerous, so much so that the sailors associated with it since highest Antiquity the presence of two Monstre S sailors, Charybde and Scylla, whose Mythe was moved towards the strait of Messine after the fall of Constantinople.
However, from its internationalization, the presence of a pilot on board cannot be required and several serious accidents occurred there, in particular three serious collisions between two tankers followed by fire, of which that of the March 13rd 1994 which caused the death of 25 sailors. The July 15th 2005, a Navire Panamanian cargo liner transporting scrap runs in water of the strait.
Crossing
- Two suspended road bridges cross the strait, the Pont of the Bosphorus builds in 1973 and the Pont Fatih Sultan Mehmet builds in 1988.
- a tunnel ferrovaire, the Marmaray intended for a line of urban train is in the course of construction.
- Of many shuttles for passengers also ensures the passage.
Internal bonds
External bonds
- Photographs of the Bosphorus
- the Bosphorus Istanbul the ford of the cow, in mythology.
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