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Amid Debate Over Safety, Turkey Unveils Bosporus Tunnel Amid Debate, Turkey Unveils Rail Tunnel Under Bosporus
(about 3 hours later)
ISTANBUL — With its skyline stitched by minarets and its soul straddling the Bosporus waterway, this city has long defined itself as geography’s junction between East and West, where the European landmass meets the Anatolian steppe and cultures intertwine.ISTANBUL — With its skyline stitched by minarets and its soul straddling the Bosporus waterway, this city has long defined itself as geography’s junction between East and West, where the European landmass meets the Anatolian steppe and cultures intertwine.
Just as durably, predating the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, has been a watery obstacle in the path of travelers and invaders alike. As Istanbul has grown into a clogged metropolis of 16 million people, the strait has presented urban planners with a challenge: how to ease the cross-Bosporus commute for the millions of people who use the city’s ferries and two road bridges.Just as durably, predating the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, has been a watery obstacle in the path of travelers and invaders alike. As Istanbul has grown into a clogged metropolis of 16 million people, the strait has presented urban planners with a challenge: how to ease the cross-Bosporus commute for the millions of people who use the city’s ferries and two road bridges.
The newest link was formally inaugurated on Tuesday, the 90th anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. Officials cut the ribbon on a $4 billion, 8.5-mile rail tunnel that runs almost 200 feet below the Bosporus seabed, part of a broader project called the Marmaray meant to bind Europe and Asia closer together, ease congestion in the city and, in more grandiose visions, eventually form part of a trade route between Europe and China.The newest link was formally inaugurated on Tuesday, the 90th anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. Officials cut the ribbon on a $4 billion, 8.5-mile rail tunnel that runs almost 200 feet below the Bosporus seabed, part of a broader project called the Marmaray meant to bind Europe and Asia closer together, ease congestion in the city and, in more grandiose visions, eventually form part of a trade route between Europe and China.
Thousands gathered for the ceremony in the Uskudar district, a stronghold of the ruling Justice and Development Party on the city’s Asian side. Reflecting their allegiance to the party and its leader, most participants said they had come to support their country and their prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who presided over the event. Thousands gathered for the ceremony in the Uskudar district, a stronghold of the governing Justice and Development Party on the city’s Asian side. Reflecting their allegiance to the party and its leader, most said they had come to support their country and their prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who presided over the event.
“It is because of him that we are becoming more advanced than the West, and setting an example for the world,” Aysel Ipekci, 41, who attended the ceremony with her children, said of the prime minister. “I brought my little boys here because I wanted them to be inspired, so one day they can conquer this country like Erdogan has done.” “It is because of him that we are becoming more advanced than the West, and setting an example for the world,” Aysel Ipekci, 41, who attended with her children, said of the prime minister. Younger people in the crowd seemed more fascinated by the project itself. “I just don’t understand how the tunnel doesn’t fill up with water,” said Mert Bila, 15. “I won’t believe it until I see it.”
Younger people in the crowd seemed more fascinated by the project itself. “I just don’t understand how the tunnel doesn’t fill up with water,” said Mert Bila, 15. “I won’t believe it until I see it.” For now, passenger trains will be running through the tunnel in a limited fashion, free for the first 15 days. Many spectators said they would wait for others to test the passage. “Nothing that runs under water can be safe,” one man told his wife, who seemed hopeful for an alternative to her usual daily ride in a packed bus.
For now, passenger trains will be running through the tunnel in a limited fashion, free for the first 15 days. Many spectators said they would wait for others to test the passage before riding through it themselves. “Nothing that runs under water can be safe,” one man told his wife, who seemed hopeful for an alternative to her usual daily ride in a packed bus. For critics, the tunnel is an emblem of cost overruns, delays and the soaring ambition of Mr. Erdogan, a former Istanbul mayor. He has proposed huge projects including a vast new airport, a canal parallel to the Bosporus and a third cross-strait bridge.
For some critics, the tunnel stands as an emblem of cost overruns, delays and the soaring ambition of Mr. Edrogan, a former mayor of Istanbul. Looking to his legacy, Mr. Erdogan has proposed huge infrastructure projects including a vast new airport, a canal parallel to the Bosporus and a third cross-strait bridge. Construction began in the mid-2000s and soon demonstrated how Istanbul perches atop a palimpsest of antiquity. The original four-year schedule was delayed soon after digging began, when engineers found the remains of a fourth-century Byzantine port.
But the tunnel also resonates in history, fulfilling a dream first put forward by Sultan Abdulmejid in 1860, when the city was the hub of the Ottoman Empire, and no one yet knew how to go about building an undersea tunnel. And the opening may still be premature. “The part that is in service is very limited,” a city planner, Tayfun Kahraman, told Agence France-Presse. “We are wondering why this inauguration is happening so soon.”
Construction began in the mid-2000s, and like other grand construction projects here, it soon demonstrated how Istanbul perches atop a palimpsest of antiquity. The original four-year schedule was delayed soon after digging began, when engineers discovered the remains of a fourth-century Byzantine port. The biggest issues seem to be that the tunnel still lacks an electronic security system and that it could flood. “It would be murder to open it under these conditions,” said Suleyman Solmaz, a senior figure at the Chamber of Architects and Engineers, adding that a project engineer told him he would not dare ride through the tunnel until those issues were addressed.
And the opening, though long delayed, may still be premature. “The part that is in service is very limited,” a city planner, Tayfun Kahraman, told Agence France-Presse. “We are wondering why this inauguration is happening so soon.” The transport minister, Binali Yildirim, dismissed concerns about building the project in a seismically active area, saying it was designed to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. The tunnel will be, he said, the “safest place in Istanbul.”
The biggest issues seem to be that the tunnel still lacks an electronic security system and that it could flood. Suleyman Solmaz, a senior figure at the Chamber of Architects and Engineers, said “it would be murder to open it under these conditions,” and added that an engineer on the project told him he would not dare ride through the tunnel until those issues were addressed.
The government went ahead with the ceremony on the nation’s anniversary anyway. “Turkey will celebrate two feasts together,” said the transport minister, Binali Yildirim.
He dismissed concerns about building the project in a seismically active area, saying it was designed to withstand a 9.0-magnitude earthquake. The tunnel will be, he said, the “safest place in Istanbul.”

Ceylan Yeginsu reported from Istanbul, and Alan Cowell from London.

Ceylan Yeginsu reported from Istanbul, and Alan Cowell from London.