e. The Bosporus.
Local Steamers (p. [538]), with 17 stations on the European side and 12 on the Asiatic, never all touched at on the same voyage. To Rumeli Kavak, the northmost station on the W. shore, in 2 hrs., 5 (in summer 6) steamers only. From any station it is easy to ferry to the opposite shore (5–10 pias.).
The Thracian *Bosporus (‘ox-ford’, from the Greek myth that Io swam in the shape of a cow from Asia to Europe), Turk. Kara Denis Boghaz or Stambul Boghaz (Black Sea or Stambul Straits), which, like the Dardanelles (p. [534]), was formed by the subsidence of a river-valley in the tertiary period (comp. p. xxxiv), connects the Sea of Marmora with the Black Sea. Length 20 M., breadth about 2 M., average depth 89 ft. (greatest about 395 ft.). A surface-stream, quickened by the prevailing N.E. winds, and consisting of the fresher water of the Black Sea, fed by its copious rivers, constantly pours through the straits towards the Mediterranean, while the saltier and heavier water of the latter flows in the opposite direction in a strong under-current into the Black Sea. The steep coast-hills of the N. part, as far as Rumeli Kavak, consist of eruptive rock, basalt, dolerite, and trachyte; in the S. part the prevailing formations are Devonian, clay-slate, greywacke, quarzite, and limestone. The peninsula of Stambul is of the miocene formation.
A trip on the Bosporus affords a highly picturesque and varied panorama of the scenery on its banks, and on the way back we suddenly obtain a striking view of the great city and its suburbs. The more important places only are named below. (L. signifies landing-place or pier.)
| West Bank. | East Bank. |
|---|---|
| Galata Quay and Top Haneh, see pp. [543], 544. | Leander’s Tower and Scutari, see p. [556]. |
| Dolma Bagcheh (p. [544]), with the Seraï of that name, built by Abdul Mejid in 1850–5 in the overladen ‘Turkish Renaissance’ style, now the residence of Mohammed V.; the façade on the Bosporus is over 700 yds. long; in the lofty central building is the huge throne-room. | |
| Beyond Beshiktash (p. [544]; L.) are the ruins of the Chiragan Seraï, a similar palace, which was burnt down in 1910. | Kuskunjuk (L.), a Jewish village, separated from Scutari by a low hill, was almost entirely destroyed by a disastrous fire in Feb. 1911. |
| At Ortakiöi (L.), a suburb with beautiful gardens and a pretty mosque (1870), the city is seen astern for the last time. | Beylerbey (L.). The Beylerbey Seraï, built by Abdul Aziz in 1865, is the most tasteful sultan’s palace on the Bosporus. |
| We round a headland and next come to the villages of Kuru Cheshmeh (L.) and Arnautkiöi (L.).The latter lies on the Akinti Burnu, a headland swept by a strong current. | Chengelkiöi (L.) and Vanikiöi (L.), where we lose sight of Stambul. We next pass Top Dagh (427 ft.; ‘cannon-hill’), famed for its view of the whole of the Bosporus. Kandili (L.) lies on a headland opposite the bay of Bebek. |
| Bebek (L.), on a beautiful bay, with villas (yali) of wealthy Turks, an English and American summer resort. On the hill to the N. is the Robert College, an American institution founded in 1863. | |
| Between Kandili and Anatoli Hissar (see below) opens the Valley of the Sweet Waters of Asia, at the mouth of the Büyük (great) and Küchük (little) Gök Su, a favourite Friday resort of Moslem-excursionists in summer. | |
| Above the cypresses of an old cemetery rise the picturesque towers and walls of Rumelí Hissar (L.; ‘European castle’), built by Mohammed II. in 1452, shortly before the siege of Constantinople (p. [542]), to command the narrowest part of the Bosporus (722 yds. only). Here, too, the current (sheïtan akintisi, ‘Satan’s stream’) is at its strongest. | Anatoli Hissar (L.; ‘Asiatic Castle’), or Güzel Hissar (‘beautiful castle’), the picturesque castle by the sea, which gives its name to the village, was erected by Bayazid I. in 1393 as an outwork against Byzantium. |
| Beyond Emirgian (L.) come the palaces built by Ismaîl, khedive of Egypt (d. 1895; p. [444]). | Kanlija (L.), on a small headland (beacon). |
| Stenia (L.), in a deep and sheltered bay, and Yenikiöi (L.; Greek Neochori), both inhabited chiefly by Greeks and Armenians. At the N. end of the headland are the summer seats of the American and Austrian ambassadors. | Chibukli, on the Bay of Beïkos, where the British and French fleets met for the Crimean war. At the head of the bay, beyond Pasha Bagcheh (L.) lies Beïkos, usually the northmost steamboat station. |
| From Beïkos we may ascend the Giant’s Mt. or Yusha Dagh (640 ft.; ‘Mt. Joshua’), an important landmark for ships coming from the Black Sea. The road to it (1 hr.; carr. ½ mej.) ascends past the palace of Mohammed Ali Pasha and through the grassy, well-wooded, and well-watered valley of Hunkiar Iskelesí, once a favourite country seat of the Byzantine emperors and the sultans. On the top are a mosque, the ‘tomb of the giant Joshua’, and a small café. *View over the whole Bosporus, but Constantinople is hidden. | |
| Therapia (L.; Summer Palace Hot.; Hôt. Tokatlian, etc.; pop. 5000), a large and handsome village, on a small bay, with cafés by the sea and terraced gardens. On the quay, to the N. of the bay, are the summer residences of the British (lofty white building), French, and Italian ambassadors; on the N. side of the bay is that of the German ambassador. | |
| The steamers plying beyond Beïkos proceed thence straight across the Bosporus to Yenikiöi (see above) on the European shore, where corresponding with them there are generally steamboats plying viâ Therapia (see above) to Mezar Burnu (see below) and to Rumelí Kavak (p. [560]). Thence they go on to the last station on the Asiatic shore— | |
| Near the small cape Kiretsh Burnu, with its battery and beacon, the Black Sea becomes visible in the distance. | |
| Büyükdereh (L.; Hôt. Bellevue; Hôt. d’Europe; Hôt. Platane, etc.; pop. 6000) is one of the most frequented summer resorts of the wealthy Europeans of Constantinople, with handsome houses in the N. part. The Bay of Büyükdereh (‘great valley’) forms the broadest part of the Bosporus (2 M.). | |
| At the N. end of the bay are Mezar Burnu (L.), a small village, and Yeni Mahalleh, at the mouth of the ‘rose valley’, the terminus of most of the steamers. | |
| Five or six boats only go on, passing the ruinous fort Telli Tabia and the Dikili Cliffs, to Rumelí Kavak, a village near a fortress built by Murad IV. in 1628 and restored in 1890. The walls of the ruined Byzantine castle of Imros Kalesí, on a hill to the N., once extending down to the sea, were prolonged by moles, like those of Yoros Kalesí opposite, so that a chain could be carried across. | Anatoli Kavak, a genuine Turkish village, lying on the Majar Bay between two strongly fortified headlands. On the N. headland rises also the picturesque ruin of the Byzantine castle of Yoros Kalesí, called the Genoese Castle since the 14th century. In ancient times the headland and the strait, one of the narrowest parts of the Bosporus, were named Hieron (sanctuary) after the altar of the twelve gods, where Jason is said once to have sacrificed, and after a temple of Zeus Urios, the dispenser of favourable winds. |
| At the N. end of the Bosporus the banks, which bristle with forts and batteries, consist of almost perpendicular basaltic rock, above which runs a hill-path. Between Rumelí Kavak and the headland Karibjeh Kalesí the little bay of Büyük Liman offers the first refuge to vessels of slight draught coming from the N. | |
| In the Majar Bay vessels coming from the Black Sea have to show their papers before entering the Bosporus. Then comes Kechili Bay, bounded on the N. by the cape Fil Burnu, and defended by a fort, as is also the Poiras Burnu, a little farther to the N.E. | |
| The Bosporus now expands at its N. entrance to 2¾ M., near Rumelí Fanar, a Greek village (Fenerkiöi or Fanaraki), with a lighthouse and a strong fortress on the rock to the N. of the bay. To the E. rise a number of dark basaltic cliffs, the Cyanean Islands or Symplegades (i.e. the rocks which, according to the ancient tradition, ‘clash together’), between which Jason had to pass on the Argonautic expedition. | Next, on the rocky coast, are the village and beyond it the low cape of Anatoli Fanar, with the Anatolian lighthouse and a fort rising above it. |
| Farther on are Kabakos Bay, in the basaltic rocks of which nestle countless sea-fowl, and, at the N. mouth of the Bosporus, the abrupt Yum Burnu, with a battery and rescue-station for the shipwrecked. |
IX. THE BLACK SEA.
| Route | Page | |
|---|---|---|
| [82]. | From Constantinople to Constantza | [561] |
| 83. | From Constantinople to Odessa | [563] |
| 84. | From Odessa to Batum | [568] |
| Yalta, 569. | ||
| 85. | From Batum to Constantinople | [571] |
The Black Sea (Turk. Kara Denis; Russ. Chornoye More; p. xxxiv), the Pontus Euxinus of the ancients, sometimes deserves its name for the dark-blue hue of its waters, which is markedly different from the blue of the Mediterranean. Its area, nearly equal to that of the Baltic, amounts to 163,689 sq. M., without including the 14,519 sq. M. of the Sea of Azov (p. xxxiv) which is united with the Black Sea by the narrow Straits of Kertch (p. [570]) and separated from the shallow Gulf of Odessa (p. [564]) by the Crimean Peninsula. The basin proper of the Black Sea is a huge depression, falling away rapidly from its margin to its centre, where it reaches a depth of ca. 7365 ft. Its flow and ebb are not perceptible. Owing to the great rivers it receives its surface-water is but slightly salt (1.8 per cent), but the deep water is more saline (2.2 to 2.3 per cent). The bottom is coated with black mud impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen and is therefore entirely destitute of animal life. On warm summer nights the phosphorescence of the water is very observable. As in the Mediterranean, the vessels are often followed by dolphins.
During almost the whole of summer gentle N. and N.E. winds, with a clear sky, prevail in the S.W. part of the Black Sea. At other seasons the wind is very variable. The N.W. and W. winds often bring fog, which makes the entrance of the Bosporus difficult. In winter and about the time of the equinox dangerous storms from the S. and S.E. are by no means rare.