Marmaray
One train dips below the Bosphorus and links two continents — the first standard-gauge rail connection between Europe and Asia in history.
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The 13.6 km underwater tunnel finally solved what all prior rail lines could not: a direct Europe–Asia crossing (earlier connections ran through Russia on incompatible broad-gauge tracks). Construction kept halting because excavations for new stations kept turning up ancient archaeological sites beneath Istanbul's streets, pushing the full opening to 2019.
What to look for
- The descent into the Bosphorus tunnel — the exact moment the train passes under the strait between continents
- Walk-through carriages: the new rolling stock lets you move from one end of the train to the other without interruption
- Transfer boards at Halkalı for the YHT high-speed network to Ankara and international trains to Sofia
The full Halkalı–Gebze run takes 104 minutes; board at any central interchange to ride the underwater segment without committing to the whole line.
Marmaray 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.