The Three Bosphorus Bridges

Quick answer: there are three bridges over the Bosphorus, built roughly a generation apart. The first, at Ortaköy, is the one that appears in every photograph of Istanbul at night. The second sits between the two medieval fortresses at the strait’s narrowest stretch. The third is 30 kilometres north of the city and most visitors never see it. From a yacht, the first two frame the classic route.

The 15 July Martyrs Bridge (1973)

Istanbul’s first bridge over the Bosphorus opened in October 1973, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Republic. It was called simply the Bosphorus Bridge for most of its life and was renamed in 2016. It runs from Ortaköy on the European shore to Beylerbeyi on the Asian one, with a main span of 1,074 metres — at the time of opening, the longest suspension span outside the United States.

What matters from the water is less the engineering than the geometry. The bridge lands almost directly above two of the most photographed buildings on the strait: Ortaköy Mosque on the European side and Beylerbeyi Palace on the Asian. Passing underneath puts all three in one frame, which is why cruise routes are built around this stretch rather than around the bridge itself.

Since 2007 the bridge has carried a programmable lighting system, and the colours change through the evening and for national days. If you want the bridge lit, you want to be near it after dusk rather than during the golden hour — a distinction our sunset guide goes into, because the two best photographs of a Bosphorus evening happen about forty minutes apart.

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (1988)

The second bridge opened in July 1988, with a main span of 1,090 metres, and carries the motorway traffic that the first bridge could no longer absorb. It crosses at Rumeli Hisarüstü, immediately above the point where the strait pinches to its narrowest.

That location is not an accident of modern traffic planning. Directly below the bridge stand Rumeli Fortress on the European bank and Anadolu Hisarı on the Asian one — the pair of fortresses Mehmed II used to close the strait in 1452, chosen for exactly the same reason the engineers chose it five centuries later: it is the shortest crossing. The bridge is named after him.

Most private charters from Karaköy turn somewhere around here. A two-hour cruise reaches the first bridge and the Ortaköy stretch without hurrying; three hours takes you comfortably past the second and into the quieter upper Bosphorus. Our route page sets out what each duration actually covers.

The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (2016)

The third bridge is a different kind of structure and a different kind of experience. It opened in August 2016 near the northern mouth of the strait, between Garipçe and Poyrazköy, with a main span of 1,408 metres. Unlike the other two it carries rail tracks alongside its road lanes, and its towers are the tallest of the three by a wide margin.

It is also almost entirely outside the tourist Bosphorus. It exists to move freight and long-distance traffic around the city rather than through it, and it stands in open, largely undeveloped country where the strait meets the Black Sea. A cruise that reaches it is a half-day trip rather than an evening one. If that is what you are after, tell us at the quote stage — it is a matter of hours booked, not a different product.

What you cannot do

You cannot walk or cycle across any of the three bridges. This surprises a lot of visitors, because the first bridge looks so approachable from Ortaköy. They are motorway structures with no pedestrian deck, and the one exception is the Istanbul Marathon each November, when the 15 July Martyrs Bridge is closed to traffic and runners cross on foot. There is no ticketed viewing platform on any of them.

This is the practical reason the bridges are a water subject rather than a land one. From the shore at Ortaköy you get the bridge as a backdrop; from underneath you get its scale, which is a genuinely different thing — the deck is roughly 64 metres above the water at mid-span on the first bridge, and yachts pass beneath it without any sense of clearance being an issue.

Being honest about the third bridge

If you have limited time in Istanbul, the third bridge is not worth arranging a cruise around. It is an impressive piece of engineering in an empty landscape, and the four hours it takes to reach it and come back are four hours not spent on the stretch of water where the palaces, the mosques and the waterfront mansions are. We would rather say that plainly than sell the longer charter.

The stretch that repays time is between Karaköy and the second bridge. That is where the density is: Dolmabahçe, Ortaköy, Beylerbeyi, the yalıs at Bebek and Arnavutköy, the two fortresses. Two hours covers it; three hours covers it without watching the clock.

Constantine Yachts is operated by AST Turizm, a TÜRSAB member agency (No. A-805) in tourism since 1967, rated 4.9–5.0 across 700+ verified reviews on Google, Viator and GetYourGuide as of August 2026.

New: on 29 October the Bosphorus has its Republic Day fireworks. See how to watch them from a private yacht.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Bosphorus Bridges

How many bridges cross the Bosphorus?

Three: the 15 July Martyrs Bridge (1973), the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (1988) and the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (2016). There are also road and rail tunnels beneath the strait, but those are not bridges and you see nothing of them from the water.

Can you walk across the Bosphorus Bridge?

No. None of the three has a pedestrian deck, and there is no ticketed viewing platform. The single exception is the Istanbul Marathon each November, when the 15 July Martyrs Bridge is closed to traffic and runners cross on foot.

Which bridge do Bosphorus cruises pass under?

Almost always the 15 July Martyrs Bridge at Ortaköy, and on a longer cruise the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge as well. The third bridge is roughly 30 kilometres north of the city centre and reaching it turns an evening cruise into a half-day trip.

What time do the bridges light up?

The lighting comes on after dusk rather than at sunset, so the lit bridge and the golden hour are two separate moments about forty minutes apart. Check your date in our month-by-month sunset table and plan the boarding time from there.

Why is the second bridge built between two fortresses?

Because both were placed at the narrowest point of the strait, for the same reason. Rumeli Fortress and Anadolu Hisarı face each other across roughly 700 metres of water — close enough for cannon in 1452, and the shortest crossing for a suspension span in 1988.

How high are the bridges above the water?

The deck of the 15 July Martyrs Bridge sits roughly 64 metres above the water at mid-span, and the other two are comparable or higher. Clearance is never a consideration for a yacht — the bridges were built for the cargo ships that transit the strait.

Can we cruise as far as the third bridge?

Yes, on a private charter with enough hours booked. Tell us at the quote stage and we will price the time it takes rather than treat it as a different product — but read the section above first, because we usually suggest spending those hours further south.