Golden Horn, Natural harbor in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Golden Horn is the estuary of the Alibey and Kağıthane Creeks, about 7.5 kilometers long and 750 meters wide at its widest, reaching a depth of roughly 35 meters where it meets the Bosphorus. It curves northwest from the Bosphorus, separating the historic peninsula of Istanbul from Beyoğlu. Four bridges cross it, including the Galata Bridge and the Golden Horn Metro Bridge.

During the 1453 siege, Sultan Mehmed II transported ships overland on greased logs to bypass the defensive chain at the entrance. Afterward, the city built shipyards and trading docks along the inlet that supplied the Ottoman Empire for centuries.

The name is explained either by the wealth that passed through the harbour or by the yellow light of the setting sun on the water; the Turkish name Haliç simply means "estuary", from the Arabic khaleej. After 1453 Mehmed II settled Greeks in Fener, and Bayezid II invited Jews expelled from Spain to Balat.

Bridges such as the Galata, Atatürk and Haliç connect the shores and let you cross the inlet on foot or by car. Ferries run regularly between the piers and offer an easy way to move between districts.

Leonardo da Vinci designed a bridge for the inlet in 1502, but it was never built. The design, however, inspired a footbridge erected in Norway in 2001.