Istanbul’s new Karaköy pier to open this month after 10 years closed

Fırat Alkaç – ISTANBUL

A new floating pier in Istanbul’s Karaköy district was installed in the early hours of May 24, due to go into service later this month after 10 years closed.

Heavy southwesterly winds had caused irreparable damage to the previous pier back in 2008, after which a temporary structure was used by ferries.

The new pier, which is 3.5 meters high and which covers a ground of 2,236 square kilometers, will include a library, a cafeteria and the capacity to hold 10 ships tied at a time.

Officials said 90 percent of the new pier has been completed, adding that card machines, a cafeteria with books, and final decorations are currently being completed. The pier will have two floors, with passengers entering ferries from the ground floor and a cafeteria located on the top floor.

The new pier was built at a shipyard in Tuzla to the south of the city before being transported to a shipyard in the Golden Horn for final touches.

For the transport of the pier, which weighs 2,000 tons, both the Atatürk and Galata bridges were closed to vehicles and pedestrian traffic late at night.

After going into service, the new Karaköy Pier will serve ferries traveling to the Kadıköy and Üsküdar on the Asian side of the city.

Karaköy, a commercial neighborhood on the European side of the city, sits on the intersection of the Bosporus Strait and the Golden Horn.