Golden Horn, Istanbul, Turkey

As the sun sets in Istanbul, its yellow light blazes on the waters of the Golden Horn, giving this freshwater estuary its romantic name.

"Golden Horn" is its Western name. Its Turkish name, Haliç, (hah-LEECH, from Arabic) has nothing to do with gold or horns. Haliç, short for Haliç-i Dersaadet, means "The Bay of Istanbul," the body of water which separates the "old" and "new" parts of European Istanbul.

The Galata Bridge crosses the Golden Horn at its mouth, connecting Eminönü and Sirkeci in Old Istanbul (centered on Sultanahmet) to the south with Karaköy (Galata) and Beyoglu (Pera) to the north.

This short river may have gotten its "golden" name because it was the commercial heart of the city, serving as the principal harbor of Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul for 2000 years, until the mid-20th century. Markets still abound here, and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce has its offices right on the shore.

In Byzantine times, Italian city-states had colonies on its shores, and the southern end of the Galata Bridge at Eminönü was a Karaite Jewish quarter. In later times, Rüstem Pasha, grand vezir to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, built his exquisite small mosque here.

In Ottoman times, Sephardic Jews fleeing the persecutions of the Spanish Inquisition were welcomed into the empire and settled at Balat and Hasköy on the Golden Horn. (For more, see Jewish Sites in Turkey.)

In late Ottoman times, the Orient Express from Paris would round Seraglio Point and come to a stop at Sirkeci Station beneath the walls of Topkapi Palace at the mouth of the Golden Horn.

European trains to Istanbul still arrive at Sirkeci, and international cruise ships and ferries still arrive at the Yolcu Salonu in Karaköy (Galata) to the north across the mouth of the Golden Horn.

Galata Bridge

Eminönü

Sirkeci

Beyoglu

Sultanahmet

Istanbul Sights

Istanbul Hotels

Istanbul Restaurants

Istanbul Homepage

Where to Go

TTP Homepage

Golden Horn, Istanbul: I suppose it's shaped like a horn (seen from above), which may be how it got its English name.
Below, the Horn turning to gold at sunset.