PrInces Islands

The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait (/ˈbɒspərəs, ˈbɒsfərəs/ BOSS-pər-əs, BOSS-fər-əs; Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı, lit. 'Istanbul strait', colloquially Boğaz) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Turkey which is straddled by the city of Istanbul. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental boundaries between Asia and Europe. It also divides Turkey by separating Asia Minor from Thrace. It is the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation.

Most of the shores of the Bosporus Strait, except for the area to the north, are heavily settled, with the city of Istanbul's metropolitan population of 17 million inhabitants extending inland from both banks.

The Bosporus Strait and the Dardanelles Strait at the opposite end of the Sea of Marmara are together known as the Turkish Straits.

Sections of the shore of the Bosporus in Istanbul have been reinforced with concrete or rubble and those sections of the strait prone to deposition are periodically dredged.

Heybeliada (meaning "Saddlebag Island" in Turkish; Greek: Χάλκη, romanized: Chalkē, also rendered Halki) is the second largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. It is a neighbourhood in the Adalar district of Istanbul. The large Naval Cadet School overlooks the jetty to the left as you get off the ferry. There are two interesting pieces of architecture on the grounds of the school. One is Kamariotissa, the only remaining Byzantine church on the island, and more importantly the last church to be built before the conquest of Constantinople. The other is the grave of the second English Ambassador to be sent to Constantinople by Elizabeth I of England, Edward Barton, who chose to live on Heybeli to escape the bustle of the city. To the right of the jetty lies the town with its bars and cafes, a hotel that stays open all year round, and many lovely wooden houses. At the top of the central mountain is an eleventh-century Greek Orthodox monastery, it houses the Halki seminary, the only Greek Orthodox seminary in Turkey and Theological Seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate closed by the Turkish Government in 1971, after the ban on private higher-education institutions passed the Parliament. The monastery attracts tourists from all over Greece and Turkey, and despite the Turkish Government's promise to reopen the seminary, it still remains closed. To prevent the island from becoming polluted, the only motorized vehicles permitted on the island are service vehicles such as ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and the like. The only forms of transport are by foot, horse and buggy and service transport. There is no airport; the only way of getting there is by boat. The winter population of the island is around 3,000, but in the summer, the owners of the summer houses return and the population swells to 10,000. The main summer attractions are small-scale open-air concerts sponsored by the local council, a swimming and fitness club next to the sea, and an annual Independence Day march, which is commemorated by a resident naval band touring the island.

As there is almost no motor traffic on the Islands, the only transport being bicycles and horse and cart, they are more peaceful than the city of Istanbul. They are just a short ferry ride from Istanbul, with ferries departing from Bostancı, Kadıköy, Kartal and Maltepe on the Asian side, and from Beşiktaş and Kabataş on the European side. Most ferries call in turn at the four largest of the nine islands: Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and, finally, Büyükada. Ferry and ship services are provided by six different companies. In spring and autumn, the islands are quieter and more pleasant, although the sea can be rough in spring, autumn and winter, and the islands are sometimes cut off from the outside world when the ferry services are cancelled due to storms and high waves. During winter, with the addition of the biting cold and the strong winds and the resulting ferry cancellations, the islands become almost deserted.