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| Locale | Istanbul, İzmir |
|---|---|
| Waterway | Bosporus Golden Horn Marmara Sea Gulf of İzmir Mytilini Strait Chios Strait |
| Transit type | Passenger Ferry Car Ferry Sightseeing |
| Began operation | 1995 [1] |
| No. of lines | 34 |
| No. of vessels | 70 |
| No. of terminals | 19 |
| Daily ridership | Approximately 50,000 (Istanbul only) |
| Website | turyol |
Turyol is a private ferry operator, which owns and operates urban and international ferry service in western Turkey, focused primarily around Istanbul. It is one of three private ferry operators in Istanbul, along with İDO and Dentur. Turyol maintains a fleet of 70 vessels, 60 of which are for scheduled passenger service. In terms of fleet size and number of lines, Turyol is the largest private ferry operator in Turkey and second largest overall, after the Istanbul Municipality's ferry operator Şehir Hatları.
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. East Thrace, located in Europe, is separated from Anatolia by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorous strait and the Dardanelles. Turkey is bordered by Greece and Bulgaria to its northwest; Georgia to its northeast; Armenia, the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the south. Ankara is its capital but Istanbul is the country's largest city. Approximately 70 to 80 per cent of the country's citizens identify as Turkish. Kurds are the largest minority; the size of the Kurdish population is a subject of dispute with estimates placing the figure at anywhere from 12 to 25 per cent of the population.
Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives in suburbs on the Asian side of the Bosporus. With a total population of around 15 million residents in its metropolitan area, Istanbul is one of the world's most populous cities, ranking as the world's fourth largest city proper and the largest European city. The city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Istanbul is viewed as a bridge between the East and West.
İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. was founded in 1987 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Originally established with a fleet of 10 seabuses built by the Kvaerner Fjellstrand shipyard of Norway, the İDO today has a fleet of 25 seabuses designed by Kvaerner Fjellstrand, Austal and the Damen Group; 10 high-speed car ferries designed by Austal and the Damen Group; 18 car ferries; 32 commuter ferries; and 1 large passenger ship. At present, the İDO is the world's largest commuter ferry operator with its 87-passenger ships and 86 piers. The company owns a total of 103 ships including its service vessels.
Turyol operates ferry service within four separate areas in western Turkey. The largest of these four areas are in and around Istanbul, where Turyol operates commuter ferry service to 19 piers on the Bosporus, Golden Horn and Marmara Sea. [2] Outside of the Istanbul area, Turyol operates international car ferry service from Turkey to two Greek islands: Lesbos and Chios. The ferry to Lesbos departs from Ayvalık, while the ferry to Chios departs from Çeşme. Season ferry service on the Gulf of İzmir between Foça, Mordoğan and Karaburun operates during the summer months. [2]
The Bosporus or Bosphorus is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey. It forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, the Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, by extension via the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
The Golden Horn, also known by its modern Turkish name, Haliç, is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey.
Lesbos is an island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of 1,633 km2 (631 sq mi) with 320 kilometres of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Turkey by the narrow Mytilini Strait and in late Palaeolithic/Mesolithic times was joined to the Anatolian mainland before the end of the last glacial period.
Turyol operates a fleet of 70 vessels, along with 2 maintenance vessels for non-revenue service. 60 of these are for scheduled passenger service. [3]
