Ferries in Istanbul Ferries in Istanbul The city of Istanbul is at a geographic crossroads, straddling Europe and Asia Minor, and is divided by a sea lane called the Bosphorus Strait, which joins the Black Sea in the northeast and the Marmara Sea in the southwest. This strait has played a key role in the history of the city. Boats have traversed the waters of the Bosphorus for millennia and until the opening of the first Bosphorus bridge in 1973, were the only mode of transport between the European and Asian halves of Istanbul. They continue to serve as a key public transport
History of Istanbul was moved from Istanbul to Ankara. As a consequence, population collapsed, from an estimated 1,125,000 in 1914 to about 500,000 in 1924; but population steadily grew during the later 20th century, the metropolitan population surpassing 10 million in the year 2000. The city's name "İstanbul" is a shortened version with a Turkish character of the Medieval Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" [is tin ˈpolin], meaning "into the city", which had long been in vernacular use by the local population. The international name "Constantinople" also remained in use until Turkey adapted the Latin alphabet in 1928 and urged other countries to