Slide 489

The Bosporus from the Heights Above Scutari, Turkey in Asia.

Drawer 10



Negative Number: 10969

Latitude: 41.0

Longitude: 29.0

Geographical Classification:
Asia: Turkey in Asia: Asia Minor

Card Front:

The Bosporus is a narrow strait of water. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora. Locate each. The word "Bosporus" means "ox-ford." It is so called because of a Greek legend. This tale has it that a girl named Io was changed into a heifer and was tormented by a gadfly. To escape the fly she swam the strait; hence the name "ox-ford" or Bosporus. The Bosporus is about 18 miles long and is 2 3/4 miles wide at its widest point. At its narrowest point it is less than one half mile wide. But it is from 100 to 350 feet deep so that large vessels can easily sail through it. Ships going from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea must pass through the Bosporus. What cities are on the Black Sea? The strait separates Turkey in Europe from Turkey to Asia. In times of peace it is open to

Card Back:

trading vessels of all nations. But the nations of Europe have agreed that no warships except those of Turkey may enter it. Constantinople, the capital of Turkey, is on the Bosporus. Scutari, the city in the foreground of the scene is a part of Greater Constantinople. The main city of Constantinople lies on the other side of the strait. Scutari is a city of about 100,000 people. Most of these are Mohammedans. Its streets are crooked and its houses are mostly of wood. Many fine churches called mosques are in Scutari. You can see the round tops of two mosques near the right edge of the view. It is noted chiefly for its Mohammedan burial ground, which is one of the largest in the East. Trace a cargo of wheat from Odessa to Constantinople.