Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge
A steel span named for the sultan who ended the Byzantine Empire carries two continents' worth of traffic across the Bosphorus.
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When it opened in 1988 it ranked 5th in the world by suspension span. The 1,090 m gap between its towers — cleared 64 m above the water — carries 150,000 vehicles daily across the strait. Prime Minister Turgut Özal made the ceremonial first crossing by car on 3 June 1988. Pedestrians are not permitted on the bridge, so the view is from the shore.
What to look for
- Steel pylons rising 105 m above road level — visible from both the European shore at Hisarüstü and the Asian shore at Kavacık
- Double vertical steel cables suspending the aerodynamic deck across a total length of 1,510 m
- Ship traffic passing beneath the deck, which clears sea level by 64 m
No pedestrian access; observe from the shoreline at Hisarüstü (Europe) or Kavacık (Asia). Toll applies only to Asia-bound vehicles.
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Istanbul, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Istanbul pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Istanbul
- Hagia SophiaCompleted in 537, it held the title of world's largest church for over 500 years — then a mosque, a museum, and a mosque again.
- Constantinople (Istanbul)One peninsula that served as the throne of four empires for sixteen centuries straight.
- Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)Ahmed I placed it directly opposite Hagia Sophia in 1609 and gave it six minarets — a deliberate challenge to the city's greatest building.
- Topkapı PalaceFor nearly four centuries, the sultans who ruled the Ottoman Empire lived and governed from here — until the court finally moved to Dolmabahçe in 1856.
- ByzantiumGreeks from Megara planted a colony here in the 7th century BC — and the name they gave it eventually became the word for an entire empire.
- Rams Park (Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex)Galatasaray's 53,978-seat fortress on the European side of Istanbul — and the second most eco-friendly stadium on the planet.