Istanbul is one of the world's great cities. It is a sprawling city of 15 million people, partly in Europe and partly in Asia, with its geography defined by three waterways: the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus Strait and the Golden Horn. The Bosphorus Strait divides the European and Asian sections of the city and forms the route from the Marmara to the Black Sea. . Our tour covered a lot of water and ground over four days. We visited many historical and cultural sites.
From Wikipedia:
Istanbul (
Turkish:
İstanbul) is the largest city in
Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of 13.5 million, the city forms one of the
largest urban agglomerations in Europe[d] and is among the
largest cities in the world by population within city limits. Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with
Istanbul Province, of which the city is the administrative capital.
[c] Istanbul is a transcontinental city, straddling the
Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the
Sea of Marmara and the
Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies in Europe, while a third of its population lives in Asia.
[4]Founded on the
Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BC as
Byzantium, the city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as
Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as the capital of four empires: the
Roman Empire (330–395), the
Byzantine Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the
Latin Empire(1204–1261), and the
Ottoman Empire (1453–1922).
[5] It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans
conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the
last caliphate. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital in
Ankara, palaces and imperial mosques still line Istanbul's hills as visible reminders of the city's previous central role.
Istanbul's strategic position along the historic
Silk Road, rail networks to Europe and the Middle East, and the only sea route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean have helped foster an eclectic populace, although less so since the establishment of the Republic. Overlooked for the new capital during the interwar period, the city has since regained much of its prominence. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across
Anatolia have flocked to the metropolis and city limits have expanded to accommodate them. Arts festivals were established at the end of the 20th century, while infrastructure improvements have produced a complex transportation network.
Seven million foreign visitors arrived in Istanbul in 2010, when it was named a
European Capital of Culture, making the city the world's tenth-most-popular tourist destination. The city's biggest draw remains its historic center, partially listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, but its cultural and entertainment hub can be found across the city's natural harbor, the
Golden Horn, in the
Beyoğludistrict. Considered a
global city, Istanbul hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of the country's
gross domestic product.
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