Historic tunnel in Istanbul to open to traffic again

ISTANBUL

The Beylerbeyi Palace Tunnel, which was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II and constructed between 1829 and 1832, will be opened to traffic by the Üsküdar Municipality in Istanbul.

The opening of the tunnel, which has been closed since the 1970s, will become a solution to a 40-year-old problem by reducing the 1.5-hour travel time of the Üsküdar-Beylerbeyi-Çengelköy line to 15 minutes. The 2.9-meter-high tunnel’s original tissue was preserved during works to reopen it. 

The tunnel is situated under a hill on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, which is today the terrace garden of the Beylebeyi Palace. With the new project, it will regain its function that it had before the 1970s, when it was used as a highway connecting Üsküdar with the Beylerbeyi neighborhood. During its closure the tunnel served as a museum and exhibition hall.