Boğaziçi (Istanbul) Boğaziçi (Istanbul) Boğaziçi is the general term, specific to İstanbul and overlapping administrative divisions, used to denote those parts of the city with view of the Bosphorus. The respective nuances of the two terms (the strait itself and the urban area of Boğaziçi) being somewhat similar to those between San Francisco Bay and the Bay Area, they are not used interchangeably in correct parlance. The term Boğaziçi is used with particular emphasis relating to those parts of İstanbul which are situated north of the Golden Horn (Haliç), starting with the district of Beşiktaş on the European side of the Bosphorus.
History of Istanbul side there was a Phoenician colony. On the site of Lygos, the later Byzantium was located, thus Lygos is accepted as the city which gave rise to Istanbul. "Byzantion" (Βυζάντιον), Latinized as "Byzantium", was the next name of the city. The name is believed to be of Thracian or Illyrian origin and thus to predate the Greek settlement. It may be derived from a Thracian or Illyrian personal name, "Byzas". Ancient Greek legend refers to a legendary king Bizas as the leader of the Megarean colonists and eponymous founder of the city. Cape Moda in Chalcedon was the first location