The Istanbul Golden Horn (in Turkish “Haliç”) is an estuary common to the Alibeyköy and Kağıthane rivers which flow into the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
This place was adapted by the Greek colonists to shape the city of Byzantium.
The Istanbul Golden Horn is a 7.5 km long natural harbor.
The widest part of the Golden Horn is 750 meters (varying according to the point of capture). Its depth is 35 meters on average. It is exactly here that the city of Byzantium was built in the 7th century BC.
The shores of the Istanbul Golden Horn
In 1453, after the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, many ethnic groups such as the Greeks, the Jews, the Italians landed on the banks of the Golden Horn in the districts of Balat and Fener.
The descendants of these communities still live in these neighborhoods. The Golden Horn is part of the very beautiful attractions of Istanbul. The view is particularly beautiful, especially when the weather is clear, you can see the ramparts of Contantinople, Hagia Sofia, the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Galata Tower, etc…
Why “Golden Horn” name?
The first legend says that this arm of the sea strongly resembles a horn on which, towards the sunset, the reflections of the water becomes gold.
The 2nd possible legend tells that when the Byzantine people understood that they were going to lose the city against the Ottomans, they decided to put all the treasure of Constantinople on a boat which they would have voluntarily sunk somewhere in the Golden Horn. To date no one has taken this legend into consideration and no search for treasure has been started.
The 3rd supposed legend would come from Byzantine and Ottoman Empires during which it was said that the two banks of the Golden Horn were so abundant with fish that it meant wealth!
You can click Basilica Cistern