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
Marine life of the Strait of Messina important in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of whale species diversity. Worthy of note, besides the several species of Dolphins are the Fin Whale ("Balaenoptera physalus") and particularly the Sperm Whales which migrate to the Strait to their breeding area, probably the Aeolian Islands. Sharks migrate through the Strait of Messina, including the Great White Shark ("Carcharodon carcharias") and the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark ("Hexanchus griseus"). The abundant presence of marine fauna in the Straits, though noted by much earlier zoologists was first effectively publicised by the Italian scientist Anastasio Cocco (1799–1854) and following this in the second half of the