| Summary/Abstract |
BOSPORUS' TRAFFIC will be reduced to zero," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey stated in April 2011 as he spoke to a thousands-strong Turkish audience, suggesting as an alternative to the current Bosporus a new "grandiose project," the Bosporus-2 (the official name being Kanal Istanbul).1 Raised in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, the question of the construction of the channel immediately after the victory of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) risked being forgotten. However, from statements of the Turkish government ahead of the presidential election in August this year it became clear that work on the project continues and practical steps are already underway for its implementation.2 With some skepticism, however, Erdogan's plan upset the Turkish and world community over the issue of the legal status of the new strait and unnecessary fuss around the Straits of Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
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