The European with the Asian shore Sprinkled with palaces; the Ocean stream Here and there studded with a seventy-four; Sophia's cupola with golden gleam; The cypress groves; Olympus high and hoar; The twelve isles, and the more than I could dream, Far less describe, present the very view Which charm's the charming Mary Montagu... The historian of Sultan Mehmet II Tursun Bey, in his History of the Conqueror, starts his narrative of the Bosphorus with the following description, "it has turned into a canal from the waves of the Black Sea which have split a mountain into half by the power of the Almighty.." and thus, although he could not have known the geological history of the Bosphorus as a submerged former valley, he had nevertheless realized its role as an artery, or a main passage way. In a similar perception we also chose an arrangement that is appropriate to the model of progressing along a main way for the Bosphorus section of Volume III. The topographical shape of the Bosphorus guided us to change the criteria for the division into sections that we have employed in the other books of the Guide. We identified the edifices to be described in consecutive order from the Sea of Marmara towards the Black Sea along both shores of the thoroughfare. At the same time we aimed to adopt this to flow of the sea traffic between the ferry piers. The presentation of this urban geography that illustrated wider differences compared to Volumes I and ii has been the main concern of this book. In connection with this some flexibility margins have been created in listing the criteria and format. The reflection to the Guide through qualitative selections the products of rapid urbanization....

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