ISTANBUL: Turkey opened the world’s first underwater rail link between two continents on Tuesday, connecting Asia and Europe and allowing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to realize a project dreamed up by Ottoman sultans more than a century ago.
The engineering feat spans 13 km to link Europe with Asia some 60 meters below the Bosphorus Strait. Called the Marmaray, it will carry subway commuters in Europe’s biggest city and eventually serve high-speed and freight trains.
“Today we are realizing the dreams of 150 years ago, uniting the two continents and the people of these two continents,” Erdogan said at the opening, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of the founding of the modern Turkish Republic.
The 5.5 billion lira ($2.8 billion) tunnel is one of Erdogan’s “mega projects,” an unprecedented building spree designed to change the face of Turkey. They include a 50-km canal to rival the Suez that would render half of Istanbul an island, an airport that will be the world’s busiest and a giant mosque atop an Istanbul hill.
Atomic power stations are on the drawing table. A third bridge over the Bosphorus, whose construction has already felled 1 million trees, is under way.
The plans have fired up Erdogan’s opponents who dub them “pharaonic projects,” symptom of an increasingly authoritarian style of government, and warn of environmental catastrophes in one of world’s most earthquake-prone nations.
Erdogan has called the Marmaray the project of the century and says it fulfils an age-old “dream of our ancestors.”
Plans for a rail tunnel below the Bosphorus date to at least 1891, when Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid, a patron of public works whom Erdogan frequently evokes, had French engineers draft a submerged tunnel on columns that was never built.
Today, the gleaming Marmaray is an immersed tube set in the seabed built by Japan’s Taisei Corp. with Turkish partners Nurol and Gama. The bulk of financing came from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects warned the Marmaray set on a silty seabed 20 km from the active North Anatolian Fault is at risk in case of a large earthquake, which geologists predict may strike within a generation.
But Yildirim described the Marmaray as the “safest structure in Istanbul,” its free-floating structure designed to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 9. Interlocking floodgates would seal off each section.
Turkey realizes dream with Asia-Europe tunnel
Turkey realizes dream with Asia-Europe tunnel
Russian cyclist finds warm welcome on Saudi Arabia’s roads
- Anna Rodnishcheva’s ride through Kingdom is defining chapter in solo expedition
- Rodnishcheva cycled to Aqaba, crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, and has since traveled through Tabuk, AlUla, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif on her way to Riyadh
MAKKAH: Solo adventurer Anna Rodnishcheva, 27, has undertaken an ambitious journey that spans countries, climates and cultures — on a bicycle.
Born and raised in Moscow and trained as a biologist before becoming an event photographer, she now finds herself pedaling thousands of kilometers across unfamiliar landscapes in pursuit of discovery, connection, and the simple joy of movement.
In her conversation with Arab News, Rodnishcheva offered a detailed account of her ongoing route in Saudi Arabia, describing how the expedition is her third major cycling adventure.
After previously riding from Moscow to Sochi and later from Vladivostok to Sochi — a route that stretches across the entirety of Russia — she felt compelled to explore foreign lands by bicycle.
She set off from Moscow heading south last June, passing through Russia, Georgia, and Turkiye before flying from Antalya to Amman. She cycled to Aqaba, crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, and has since traveled through Tabuk, AlUla, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif on her way to Riyadh.
Rodnishcheva explained that physical preparation played only a small role in her planning. She began slowly and allowed her body to adapt naturally over the first month.
The true challenge, she said, was in the mental and financial preparation. She spent a year and a half planning the journey, even though she originally intended to postpone it for several more years.
Ultimately, her belief that “life is short” convinced her to start with the resources she already had. Although she sought medical evaluations and additional vaccinations, she was unable to complete them all and decided to continue regardless.
Her journey through Georgia and Turkiye presented unexpected difficulties. Simple tasks such as finding groceries or locating bicycle repair shops became more challenging outside of Russia, where she knew how to navigate on a budget.
She also encountered language barriers, though the situation improved when a local cyclist joined her in Georgia. The intense midsummer heat added another layer of difficulty, but she had prepared herself for such conditions.
One of the most striking moments of her trip occurred as she crossed from Jordan into Saudi Arabia. She described the experience as surreal and emotionally overwhelming, likening it to the adventures of a literary hero traveling across the Arabian Peninsula.
Her anxiety eased unexpectedly when she got a flat tire at the border, bringing her back to the present.
Despite being warned that crossing by bicycle would be prohibited, the process went smoothly, and she was struck by the friendliness of both Jordanian and Saudi officials. She expressed particular surprise at meeting a female Saudi passport officer, an encounter that challenged her previous assumptions about women’s roles in the Kingdom.
Rodnishcheva said the hospitality she had experienced in Saudi Arabia surpassed anything she had encountered on previous journeys. Drivers frequently stop to offer her water, fruit, or sweets, and several families have generously hosted her in their homes or guest flats.
She emphasized that she feels completely safe traveling across the Kingdom, especially on the open roads between cities, noting the strong and visible security presence.
She has also observed significant differences in weather. While the stretch from the border to Jeddah was hot despite being winter, the climate changed dramatically after climbing Al-Hada in Taif, turning cooler and windier — a climate she compared to Russian summers.
Rodnishcheva documents her travels primarily through Russian-language platforms such as VK and Telegram. Although she maintains YouTube and Instagram accounts, she explained that her schedule left little time for frequent updates.
Offering a message to women around the world who dream of embarking on similar adventures, she said such journeys were “not as scary as they seem before you start,” though they may not suit everyone.
Her closing advice? “Listen to your heart.”
