North western Turkey is divided by a complex waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea. The channel passing between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara is the Bosporus. Istanbul is positioned at the south end of the Bosporus. The Sea of Marmara is connected to the Aegean Sea by a channel called the Dardanelles.
Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. The elegant suspension bridge completed in 1973 linking Europe and Asia can be seen in some of Ray�s photos. The port of Istanbul technically encompasses the entire length of the Bosporus. A large part of the Port of Istanbul is located on the Asian side of the Bosporus at Haydarpasa where the quays total 6,522 ft in length. The port is protected by two breakwaters with an overall length of 5,607 ft. Up to six medium sized vessels may be accommodated simultaneously, and cargo operations may be made direct to and from wharves or railway trucks. Depth alongside quays varies from 19.7 to 32.8 ft. Other berthing facilities at Istanbul, located on the European side of the Bosporus, include passenger vessel piers, a coal handling facility, and a cargo terminal.
The TSS had organised two seven hour cruises from Istanbul. The first was to the ship construction and repair yards at Tuzla and a visit to the container terminal at Hydaparsa on their return. Tuzla is to the East of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara. The second cruise was through the busy anchorages to Ambarli on the European side in the Marmara Sea (around 10 miles from Istanbul).
There were of course many pictures of the ubiquitous ferries that ply across the Bosphorous, seemingly unaffected by the two road bridges. There were also pictures of two rail ferries still in use across the Bosphorous, however there were an increasing numbers of �fastcat� type ferries operating.One of Rays pictures showed the four remaining Fairfield built ferries laid up in the harbour probably never to carry passengers again. Ray also included a good number of his favourite tugs. Of the larger ferries many had former lives in North European waters, such as the Destiny ex Rodri Mawr and the Caledonia, an ex Truckline vessel. The Bosphorous sees a large variety of shipping including bulk carriers, oil and chemical tankers, gas carriers, heavy lift ships, livestock carriers, fishing vessels, container ships and cruise ships. The latter included Royal Princess, Insignia, Costa Marina and Costa Mediteranea during Ray�s week. The many coasters seen were often ex Russian that are now under the flags of former USSR states, Korea or Cambodia.
The Tuzla shipyards are teeming with unfinished ships some built locally others bought part completed from other yards. There are many slips and floating drydocks with ships being completed and repaired. The shipping in some places was so dense that photos of all the ships there was not possible!
On their trip to Ambarli there was some dispute over the hire boats entry into the harbour especially as there were so many cameras on display. However by the time the dispute was amicably settled, everyone had taken all the ships that they had wanted to take.
All too soon it was time to return home to have the dozens of rolls of film developed.
Our thanks go to Ray for his excellent and informative show, and we look forward to the fruits of another excursion with the TSS.