ISTANBUL -- The 45-km canal was characterized as "crazy" by its biggest booster when the idea first surfaced a decade ago. But on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the groundbreaking ceremony of a bridge that marks the first move to build his pet "Canal Istanbul" project connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, a massive endeavor that he hopes will win foreign support, including China's.
"We are opening a new page today in Turkey's development history," Erdogan said at the ceremony. "We see this as a project to save the future of Istanbul."
