Canal Istanbul may be the most controversial topic of recent years in Turkey, together with the currency of the Turkish Lira. While the supporters say will yield 1 billion dollars for years, the opposition calls this project, "the murder of Istanbul". Let's take a look at the history of this project.
The concept of a canal has been proposed at least seven times in history, starting from Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to the current president of Turkey. According to plenty of sources, Suleiman the Magnificent's project was designed by Mimar Sinan, but it was canceled due to unknown reasons. On March 6, 1591, the project was once again mentioned but is canceled again for unknown reasons. During Sultan Mehmed IV's reign, pressure for the canal's reopening was applied, but without any result. Sultan Mustafa III attempted twice in 1760, but the project was thwarted due to financial difficulties. During Sultan Mahmud II's rule (1808–1839), an Imperial Ottoman Committee was formed to re-examine the idea. In 1813, a report was drafted, but no actual steps were taken. Although there were numerous new proposals, the project was halted due to opposition and the project's scale. Canal Istanbul, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced to the public on April 27, 2011, when he was Prime Minister, will turn Istanbul into a city with two seas and was put into practice on June 27, 2021, with the foundation of the first bridge.
The Istanbul Canal, which will be built on the European side between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, will be 45 kilometers long, with a minimum floor width of 275 meters and a depth of 20.75 meters. Six bridges will be built over Canal Istanbul. It will transform Istanbul into a city with two seas. Major cities with 250 thousand residences are planned to be built on both sides of Canal Istanbul.