Qualla: Istanbul Canal

Istanbul Canal: Introduction

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Randam, CC0. The idea of cutting a second channel through Thrace, parallel to the Bosphorus, is not new. Sultan Murad III issued an imperial order for just such a project in 1591. Mehmed IV's advisors pressed for it again in 1654. Mustafa III tried twice in 1760. The canal that would link the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara has been proposed at least seven times across four centuries of Ottoman and Turkish history — and has never been built. The modern version, announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2011 and formally launched in June 2021, is the most ambitious attempt yet. It is also the most contested.

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Istanbul Canal: The Problem the Canal Is Meant to Solve

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Randam, CC0. On most days, dozens of ships queue at the northern entrance to the Bosphorus waiting for their turn to transit. The strait is narrow — as little as 700 meters at its tightest — and winding, and the traffic is extraordinary. Tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, and warships a...

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Istanbul Canal: The Montreux Convention Question

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Randam, CC0. There is a second argument for the canal — or against it, depending on one's perspective. The Montreux Convention of 1936 governs the Bosphorus and prohibits transit tolls while limiting the number and tonnage of warships from non-Black Sea nations that can enter the sea. Turkey ...

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Istanbul Canal: What Would Be Lost

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Randam, CC0. The environmental concerns about the Istanbul Canal are substantial and well-documented. A scientific assessment commissioned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality identified multiple risks that the government's own Environmental Impact Assessment left inadequately addressed....

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Istanbul Canal: Construction Begins — and Slows

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Randam, CC0. On June 26, 2021, Erdoğan attended a ceremony marking the start of construction on the Sazlıdere Bridge, which would cross the canal on its route south. The government called this the official beginning of Kanal İstanbul. The estimated cost was ₺75 billion, approximately US$10 bi...

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Istanbul Canal: An Idea That Keeps Returning

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Randam, CC0. What is striking about the Istanbul Canal is not any single aspect of the project but the persistence of the underlying idea. Sultans wanted it. Modern politicians have repeatedly revived it. The Bosphorus has always been both the reason Istanbul exists and a constraint on what I...

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Image: Randam | CC0