Wüstenschiff

Oxygen levels and biological diversity in the Golden Horn will increase after the conclusion of an environmental project, as part of which 260,000 cubic liters of water are to be pumped into the Golden Horn from Istanbul's Bosporus every day [...] The main project was launched by Erdogan during his term as mayor of Istanbul in 1995. The section of the project concerning the Golden Horn was launched three-and-a-half years ago. Under the project, 260,000 cubic liters of water will be pumped from the Bosporus into the Kagithane River to ensure the circulation of clean water in the Golden Horn, hence boosting biological diversity.

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced the construction of a 220-meter bridge spanning the Golden Horn, the inlet separating Istanbul's Eastern quarter from its Western one, modeled on a 1502 drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. At its height, the pedestrian-only, 10-meter-wide bridge will rise 24 meters above the water's surface, following the specifications of da Vinci's drawing of a single-span 240-metre bridge over the Horn as part of a civil-engineering project for Sultan Bayezid II. The project resurfaced 490 years later in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace, which was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years, as part of Bayezid's correspondence with da Vinci [...] Work on the bridge should begin within months, though no official date has been set.