Domes and Ferries across the Bosphorus

Domes and Ferries across the Bosphorus is an original illustration set in Bosphorus, Istanbul, Türkiye. It lies in mid-latitudes, where the climate is mediterranean — hot dry summers, wet winters.

A white passenger ferry crosses deep blue water between Istanbul's crowded shores. On the European side, layered domes and slender minarets rise above warm stone roofs; opposite, wooded hills climb behind waterfront houses, while gulls and several working boats animate the current.

Why do ferries, domes and two continents meet along this narrow blue strait?

The Bosphorus is a narrow marine passage linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara while physically dividing Europe from Asia. That strategic crossing concentrated imperial capitals, ports and religious monuments on commanding waterfront hills, and the broken shoreline made boats a practical extension of the street network. Frequent ferries, current-filled water and skyline-defining domes therefore reveal a metropolis whose history and daily movement are organized by a strait.

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