Istanbul, Turkey

This astronaut photograph was taken on April 16th 2004, with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with an 200-mm lens, from the International Space Station (ISS). Istanbul, the metropolis of 15 million people, the crossroads of Europe and Asia, occupies both sides of the entrance to the narrow, 20-mile long Bosporus Strait connecting the Sea of Marmara (south) to the Black Sea (north). When this image was taken, strong currents carried turbid coastal waters from the Black Sea through the Strait and into the Sea of Marmara. The rugged uplands to the north of the city are forested and contain vital reservoirs. Note Ataturk airport southwest of the city near the bottom of the image, the picturesque Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara, and the sinuous waterway and harbor on the western shore known as the Golden Horn.