|
History City transport Listings Eating and drinking Nightlife and entertainment Arrival Istanbul airport
Best of Explore Hotels
Istanbul* is the largest city in
Turkey.
Until 1930 this
city was commonly known as Constantinople
by westerners; some writings named it Stamboul, especially in the 19th
century. In Classical
Antiquity it was known as Byzantium
or Byzantion.
With a population of between 11 and 15 million people, Istanbul is the most
populous city of Turkey and by some counts one of the largest
cities in Europe,
although the city straddles the Bosphorus
Strait. The city is also the administrative capital of the Istanbul Province.
Founded by the Roman
emperor Constantine
on the site of the ancient Greek
colony of Byzantium,
and called Constantinople
after him, it became the eastern capital of the Roman
Empire and later the capital of the Byzantine
Empire. After the Fall
of Constantinople in 1453
it became part of and soon capital of the Ottoman
Empire. Before the conquest Turks called the city İstanbul,
but officially used the name Qustantaniyyeh (قسطنطنيه),
that means "City of Constantine" in Arabic.
Only on March
28, 1930, was
the city officially renamed Istanbul.
The old city is mainly located on the Bosporus
strait, which separates Europe
from Asia and the Black
Sea from the Marmara
Sea. However, the modern city is much larger and covers both European and
Asian sides of the Bosporus. Famous tourist destinations include Sultanahmet,
Kilyos, Sariyer, Eyüp and Taksim on the European side, and Beykoz, Sile, Üsküdar,
Kadiköy and Adalar (the Prince's Islands) on the Asian side. Although Istanbul
is not the capital of Turkey, it is still arguably the most important city to
Turkish industry, commerce and culture and the most important import and export
center.
Arriving** in ISTANBUL can come as a shock. Most visitors head for the old city in and
around Sultanahmet , where though you're still technically in Europe, there are immediate
differences: back streets teem with traders pushing handcarts, stevedores carrying burdens
twice their size, and omnipresent shoeshine boys. Men still monopolize the public bars and
teahouses, while many women cover their heads, averting their gaze. Yet this is merely one
aspect of modern Istanbul; only a couple of kilometres to the north you'll find the former
European quarter of Beyoglu , with its trendy bars and cutting-edge dance clubs, while
north again are the pavement cafés and restaurants of Ortaköy and the swish Bosphorus
suburbs of Arnavutköy, Bebek and Etiler. These days the city has a social and cultural
diversity to match any of its Western counterparts.
Istanbul is the only city in the world to have played capital to consecutive Christian and
Islamic empires, and retains features of both, often in congested proximity. Byzantium ,
as the city was formerly known, was an important trading centre, but only gained real
power in the fourth century AD, when Constantine chose it as the new capital of the Roman
Empire . Later, as Constantinople , the city became increasingly dissociated from Rome,
adopting the Greek language and Christianity and becoming, effectively, the capital of an
independent empire. In 1203 the city was sacked by the Crusaders, and when the Byzantines,
led by Michael VIII Palaeologus, regained control in 1261, many of the major buildings had
fallen into disrepair, with the empire itself greatly diminished in size. As the
Byzantines declined, the Ottoman Empire prospered, and in 1453 the city was captured by
Mehmet the Conqueror, who shortly after began rebuilding works. In the following century,
the victory was reinforced by the great military achievements of Selim the Grim and by the
reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, whose conquests helped fund the greatest of all
Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan. By the nineteenth century, however, the glory days of
Ottoman domination were firmly over. Defeat in World War I was followed by the War of
Independence , after which Atatürk created a new capital in Ankara - although Istanbul
retained its importance as a centre of trade and commerce. In recent years , the
population of the city has reached twelve million, a fifth of the country's total, and is
still on the rise, adding further to the cacophony and congestion.
The city is divided in two by the Bosphorus , which runs between the Black Sea and the Sea
of Marmara, dividing Europe from Asia. At right angles to it, the inlet of the Golden Horn
cuts the European side in two. The old centre of Sultanahmet, occupying the tip of the
peninsula south of the Golden Horn, is home to the city's main sightseeing attractions:
the cathedral of Aya Sofya , Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque , and as such many people
find that they spend all their time here. Annoying hustlers mean first impressions can be
negative - but thankfully omnipresent tourist police have done much to clear out the
worst, and will respond quickly to any problems you may have. Further west near the
explorable city walls lies the Kariye Camii , which contains the city's finest surviving
Byzantine mosaics and frescoes. Across the Golden Horn to the north, the Galata Tower
offers superb panoramic views over the city.
|
