2016-12-20 16:23:43 A man walks past Turkish national flags and portraits of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on December 20, 2016 in Istanbul, during the opening cerenomy of the Avrasya (Eurasia) Tunnel, the first ever road tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul from Europe to Asia and the latest project in the Erdogan’s plan of transforming Turkey’s infrastructure.
Turkey in October 2013 opened the Marmaray rail tunnel underneath the iconic waterway, the first link beneath the waters that divide Europe and Asia. But the new Avrasya (Eurasia) Tunnel is the first tunnel for cars underneath the Bosphorus and aims to relieve congestion in the traffic-clogged Turkish megacity. Other schemes, which Erdogan boasts are his “crazy projects”, include a gigantic third airport for Istanbul, the first ever bridge across the Dardanelles straits and even a Suez-style shipping canal for Istanbul. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE
