Istanbul: Bosphorus Bridge and Galata

The bridges of Istanbul are an integral part of the city's landscape and the pride of the townspeople. There are a lot of structures of this type in it, 2 of which we will describe now.

The Bosporus Bridge is an ancient structure that connects the European part of the city with the Asian one. Thanks to him, you can visit two different parts of the world in a matter of minutes . The construction of such a bridge was conceived by the Persian Emperor Darius I. After all, the construction through the Bosporus could help the ruler of Persia to transfer his army to the other shore in order to crush the army of the worst enemy - Alexander the Great. His dream was realized in 480 BC, when the pontoon bridge was built across the Bosporus. Hundreds of years passed before one of the railway companies received an offer to Sultan Abdul Hamid II, about replacing the then construction of a new one with a railway connection. However, the construction of the Bosphorus Bridge began only half a century later, in 1970. After 3 years, a grandiose opening of the structure, suspended at 64 m above the waters of the Bosphorus, took place. The construction cost 200 million dollars, the length of the structure is 1510 meters, and the width is 39 meters. The Bosporus Bridge has 6 lanes (3 in each direction) and 2 more for the movement of emergency services. Every day it is crossed by more than 200 thousand cars, although it is paid. Due to mass suicides, the authorities closed pedestrian roads. In order for the bridge not to be overloaded with traffic, it was forbidden to ply trucks.

In addition to the Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul boasts another attraction that connects the banks of the Golden Horn. This is the Galata Bridge. It has a rather long and rich history. For all the time, a lot of bridges have been built over the bay, but they have always remained dysfunctional for various reasons. One of them was built by Sultan Mehmet II Fatih between the Kasympash and Ayvansaray districts. The project of this bridge was drawn even by Leonardo Da Vinci, about which there are 2 legends. According to the first, he was not approved by Sultan Beyazid II, on the second, Leonardo was persuaded by the Venetians to go to Turkey. And in 1912 for 50 thousand gold a new bridge was built. However, like many others, a tragic fate awaited him when he caught fire in 1992 under obscure circumstances. In the fifth and for the moment the last time the Galata bridge was constructed in a year and a half after the fire - in 1994. Its length is 490 meters, and width - 42 meters. To be able to ply the ships under it, it was built sliding. An interesting fact is that Galatsky is one of the longest bridges in the world, along which rails are laid. Today, a tram goes by them. Ten years ago, cafes, shops and restaurants were opened under the bridge. And today in the evenings you can see hundreds of people who decided to spend a quiet evening in company with friends.

Istanbul, whose tourists can tell about its popularity, has a huge number of sights that have been built for many centuries: the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, the Galata Tower, the Bosphorus Bridge, the Maiden Tower, the Blue Mosque and many others.