Golden Horn

Overview

North of the old city, a curving inlet of water runs inland from the Bosphorus for 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles). For more than two thousand years, the Golden Horn was the great harbor of Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul. Today, its shores hold old Greek and Jewish quarters, mosques, churches and parks. A hilltop café also looks out over the water. Our Golden Horn tour ends the day with tea on Pierre Loti Hill.

So ride the ferry upstream, walk the lanes of Fener and Balat, and end the day above the water at Eyüp. It shows a residential side of Istanbul, too. See also Surp Hreşdagabet Church. To see the Patriarchate in Fener and the Ahrida Synagogue in Balat with a guide, join our Three Faiths of Istanbul tour. Choosing one? Read Bosphorus cruise or Golden Horn.

The Golden Horn, Istanbul’s Historic Inlet

The Golden Horn, in Turkish Haliç, is the estuary of the Alibey and Kağıthane creeks. It widens from about 200 meters (660 feet) at Eyüp to about 700 meters (2,300 feet) between Cibali and Kasımpaşa, and it grows deeper toward the Bosphorus. Near Cibali, in the Ayakapı quarter, stands the Gül Mosque, a Byzantine church turned mosque. Its waters also form the northern edge of the historic peninsula, whose tip is Sarayburnu, the point of the old city.

Nobody is sure why it is called “golden”. Some historians think of the riches that reached the harbor. Others think of the yellow light on the water at sunset.

History of the Golden Horn

The chain across the harbor

First, the Byzantine navy kept its headquarters here, and walls guarded the shore. In times of danger, a great chain closed the entrance. It ran across to the old tower of Galata to stop enemy ships. However, in 1203, Crusader knights took the Galata tower that held one end and opened it. In 1453, Mehmed II could not force the chain. So he had his ships dragged overland across Galata on greased logs and launched into the Horn.

Greek, Jewish and Ottoman shores

After the conquest, Mehmed II settled Greeks in the Phanar, today’s Fener. Later, Bayezid II invited Jews expelled from Spain to settle in Balat. Around 1502–1503, Leonardo da Vinci even drew a single-span bridge over the Golden Horn for Bayezid II, though it was never built.

Cleaning the water

For decades, however, factories, warehouses and shipyards polluted the inlet. Later, clean-up work brought back fish and wildlife. Parks now line both shores.

What to See along the Golden Horn

Fener and Balat

On the western shore, the old quarters of Fener and Balat climb the hill in colorful houses. Here, for example, you will find the Bulgarian Iron Church by the water, and uphill the Chora and the Theodosian Walls.

Eyüp and Pierre Loti Hill

Further upstream, the Eyüp Sultan Mosque is a revered place of pilgrimage. Above it, Pierre Loti Hill offers tea with a sweeping view down the whole inlet.

The bridges

Finally, four bridges cross the Golden Horn today, from the Galata Bridge at its mouth to the Haliç Bridge upstream. In between, the metro bridge carries the M2 metro line across the water. The old Galata Bridge, by contrast, lies near Ayvansaray as an event space.

A Day Up the Golden Horn

Along the shores, you also find parks, cemeteries of three faiths, museums and university campuses. The T5 tram runs along the western shore. Yet the best way up the inlet is still the small Golden Horn ferry, which zigzags between both banks and ends at Eyüp.

How to Visit the Golden Horn

Getting to the Golden Horn

• By ferry: take the Haliç ferry line from Karaköy or Üsküdar up to Eyüp.
• By tram: ride the T5 along the western shore toward Eyüp.
• On foot: start at the Galata Bridge and walk upstream to Fener and Balat.

Local tips for the inlet

• Go upstream by boat and walk back through the old quarters.
• With children, add Miniatürk, the miniature park on the northern shore.
• In Hasköy, visit the Aynalıkavak Pavilion, an Ottoman palace named for Venetian mirrors, on our Aynalıkavak Pavilion tour.
• Time your visit to Pierre Loti Hill for late afternoon, when the light is golden.
• Ferry times: we plan your crossings on the city ferry timetable.