CIP A 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
Figure 2. A view from Rumelihisari. 
3. THE PROPERTIES OF BOSPHORUS 
3.1 Location and Topography 
The “Golden Horn” divides the city of Istanbul into two parts. 
The “Historical Peninsula” which is the centre of the city and 
Galata-Beyoglu region Bosphorus is an extension of the city to 
the north along the strait making up the third part. The low 
plateaus that line the Bosphorus from both sides that range in 
altitude of 100 to 200 m from the sea form the basic elements of 
topography of Bosphorus area. The undulations on the opposite 
sides of the strait show an asymmetric formation. The highest 
points on the west side are near the Black Sea shores (200-230 
m), whereas the highest points on the east side are closer to the 
Marmara Sea. 
Figure 3. A view from the natural vegetation cover of the 
Bosphorus. 
Figure 4. Waterfront buildings with the natural vegetation. 
Figure 5. A view from slopes of the Bosphorus. 
3.2 Climate 
The Bosphorus and its periphery are under the effect of regional 
climatic conditions (Mediterranean) in general. But local 
climatic conditions prevail between different parts due the 
location, altitude and vegetation cover. The annual average 
temperature ranges between 13.6 C and 13.9 C and the annual 
precipitation between 672 mm and 745 mm. The relative 
humidity is between 70 to 80% (the highest in Turkey) 
(Yaltirik, 1975, p.308-309). 
3.3 Vegetation Cover 
The natural vegetation cover of the Bosphorus shows a 
transition between the Mediterranean climatic type to Black Sea 
climatic type. The natural vegetation cover is made up of 
forests and pseudo-machi’s. The forest texture is rich in terms 
of species. According to the climatic conditions Chestnut 
(Castanea), Oak (Quercus), Elm (Ulmus), Linden (Tilia), Ash 
(Fraxinus), Locust (Robinia) are the most prominent ones. The 
most important species of machi formation are Laurel (Laurus 
nobilis), Mastic Tree (Pistachio terebinthus), Judas Tree (Cercis 
siliquastrum), Broom (Spartium junceum), Firethorn 
(Pyracantha coccinea), and Oak (Quercus latifolius, Quercus 
coccifera). Apart from the natural vegetation cover there are 
other vegetation types that have perfectly acclimatised in time 
in Bosphorus and became an inseparable part of it, like Plane 
Tree (Platanus orentalis), Horse Chestnut (Aesculus 
hippocastanum), and especially Cypress (Cupressus 
sempervirens), Stone Pine (Pinus pinea) (Pamay, 1975, 
P.165,166) 
3.4 Population 
As a result of migration to the big cities (primarily Istanbul) 
beginning from 1950 the population in Bosphorus also began to 
increase rapidly. 
3.5 Transportation 
Once the only means of communication in the Bosphorus was 
by sea (row boats). The introduction of steam boat was in 1829 
and regular trips with these began along the strait in the year 
1849. Before the construction of the two bridges over the strait, 
the first in 1973 and the second one in 1988, the communication 
between the two sides for vehicles was done by ferry-boats. 
While the bridges over the strait were planned it was considered 
that these would only cause a linear development along their 
peripheries without affecting the Bosphorus area, but the rapid 
increase in the population immediately after the construction 
revealed the opposite.