Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul (Turkey)

Hanging around on the Bridge,

Gleefully I watch all of you...

Out there, some of you row backward

Or pick mussels off the buoys;

Some clutch the rudders of barges

Or catch the ropes on the dock,

And the birds in flight, like poems,

And the glittering fish;

Then the ferryboats and floats,

Clouds drifting in the air,

Tugboats with funnels lowered

Glide quickly under the Bridge;

The Galata Bridge

Orhan Veli

Painting of a bridge over the Kagithane River near Istanbul (Turkey)

"If I had only one look to put on the world, it would be on Istanbul."

Alphonse de Lamartine,

French poet

Bosphorus Bridge spanning the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul (Turkey)

...y va el capitán pirata,
cantando alegre en la popa,
Asia a un lado, al otro Europa,
y allá a su frente Estambul;

José de Espronceda

Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul (Turkey)

La corriente del Cuerno de Oro empujaba el caique dulcemente, y el remero sólo tenía que dar débiles paletadas para seguir el viaje. Había desaparecido el sol, los minaretes de Constantinopla cortaban con su blanca línea un cielo suave, teñido de rosa y violeta. Una estrella centelleaba en ese inmenso telón de seda, como un brillante perdido.

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

Bosphorus Bridge over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul (Turkey)

"One day they built a bridge over the Bosphorus and when I stepped onto the expanse I saw how much more beautiful it was to see both banks at the same time. I understood that the best is to be a bridge between two shores."

Orhan Pamuk

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge across the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul (Turkey)

"Either I conquer Istanbul or Istanbul conquers me."

Fatih Sultan Mehmet

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge across the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul (Turkey)

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed; 
Then suddenly birds fly by,
Flocks of birds, high up, in a hue and cry
While nets are drawn in the fishing grounds
And a woman's feet begin to dabble in the water.
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

Orhan Veli