Romantic programmes across Turkey are almost all tied to the Bosphorus, and that makes sense: the strait runs some thirty kilometres between Europe and Asia, and everything that matters in Istanbul stands along its banks facing the water. From the deck you see what never assembles into a single picture from the street: the Dolmabahçe palace along the quay, the Rumeli fortress, the Ortaköy mosque right under a bridge pier, the Maiden's Tower on its islet.

There are two formats. The group cruise runs to a timetable, about three hours, often with a stop on the Asian side; the sunset version is timed so the sun goes down behind the silhouette of the old city. A private yacht charter works differently: you take the vessel whole, route and hours are agreed, dinner is laid on board, and nobody else is on deck.

Beyond Istanbul the country holds other romantic threads — balloons at dawn over the valleys of Cappadocia, sunset from the cable car above Kemer — but the water is where most of the programmes are. Practical notes: after sundown it is noticeably colder on deck than ashore, so something with sleeves is needed even in summer. Yachts are booked ahead, especially for weekends and for the fourteenth of February.