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Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, consti-

tuting the country’s economic, cultural, and

historical heart. With a population o 13.5 mil-

lion, the city orms one o the largest urban

agglomerations in Europ and is among the

largest cities in the world by population within

city limits. Istanbul’s vast area o 5,343 square

kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with

Istanbul Province, o which the city is the ad-

ministrative capital.Istanbul is a transconti-

nental city, straddling the Bosphorus—one o 

the world’s busiest waterways—in northwest-

ern Turkey, between the Sea o Marmara and

the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical

center lies in Europe, while a third o its popu-

lation lives in Asia.

Seven million oreign visitors arrived in Is-

tanbul in 2010, when it was named a Euro-

pean Capital o Culture, making the city the

world’s tenth-most-popular tourist destina-

tion.[10] The city’s biggest draw remains its

historic center, partially listed as a UNESCO

World Heritage Site, but its cultural and enter-

tainment hub can be ound across the city’snatural harbor, the Golden Horn, in the Be-

yoğlu district. Considered a global city, Ista

bul hosts the headquarters o many Turkish

companies and media outlets and accounts

or more than a quarter o the country’s gross

domestic product.Hoping to capitalize on its

revitalization and expansion, Istanbul is cur-

rently bidding or the 2020 Summer Olympics.

History

Neolithic artiacts, dating back to the 7th mil-

lennium BC and uncovered by archaeologists

at the beginning o the 21st century AD, indi-

cate Istanbul’s historic peninsula was settledearlier than previously thought and beore the

Bosphorus was even ormed. Beore the dis-

covery, conventional wisdom held that Thra-

cian tribes, including the Phrygians, began

settling on the Sarayburnu in the late 6th mil-

lenniumBC.On the Asian side, artiacts orig-

inating around the 4th millennium BC have

been ound in Fikirtepe (within Kadıköy).

However, the history o Istanbul generally

begins around 660 BC, when settlers rom

Megara, under the command o King Byzas,

established Byzantium on the European side

o the Bosphorus. The settlers proceeded tobuild an acropolis adjacent to the Golden Horn

on the site o the early Thracian settlements,

ueling the nascent city’s economy. The city

experienced a brie period o Persian rule at

the turn o the 5th century BC, but the Greeks

recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars.

Byzantium then continued as part o the Athe-

nian League and its successor, the Second

Athenian Empire, beore ultimately gaining

independence in 355 BC.Long allied with the

Romans, Byzantium ocially became a part

o the Roman Empire in 73 AD.

Byzantium’s decision to side with the usurper

Pescennius Niger against Roman Emperor

Septimius Severus cost it dearly; by the timeit surrendered at the end o 195 AD, two years

o siege had let the city devastated. Still, ve

years later, Severus began to rebuild Byzan-

tium, and the city regained—and, by some

accounts, surpassed—its previous prosperity.

Architecture

Istanbul is primarily known or its Byzantine

and Ottoman architecture, but its buildings

reect the various peoples and empires that

have previously ruled the city. Examples o 

Genoese and Roman architecture remain vis-

ible in Istanbul alongside their Ottoman coun-terparts. While nothing o the architecture

o the classical Greek period has survived,

Roman architecture has proved to be more

durable. Obelisks rom the

Constantinople are still visibl

Square, while a section o

ueduct, constructed in the

stands relatively intact at the

the Fatih district.The Colum

erected in 330 AD to mark

capital, stands not ar rom the

Early Byzantine architecture

sical Roman model o dom

but improved upon these el

Church o the Saints Sergi The oldest surviving Byzant

tanbul—albeit in ruins—is t

Stoudios (later converted i

Mosque), which was built i

recapture o Constantinopl

Byzantines enlarged two o

ant churches still extant, Ch

Pammakaristos Church. Still,

Byzantine architecture, and

most iconic structures, is the H

Among the oldest survivin

Ottoman architecture in I

Anadoluhisarı and Rumeliwhich assisted the Ottomans

o the city.[101] Over the ne

the Ottomans proceeded to m

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impression on the skyline o Istanbul, building

towering mosques and ornate palaces. The

largest palace, Topkapı, includes a diverse

array o architectural styles, rom Baroque in-

side the Harem, to its Neoclassical Enderûn

Library. The imperial mosques include Sul-

tan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque), Sü-

leymaniye Mosque, and Yeni Mosque, all o 

which were built at the peak o the Ottoman

Empire, in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the

ollowing centuries, and especially ater the

 Tanzimat reorms, Ottoman architecture was

supplanted by European styles.

Culture

Istanbul was historically known as a cultur-

al hub, but its cultural scene stagnated ater

the Turkish Republic shited its ocus toward

Ankara. The new national government estab-

lished programs that served to orient Turks

toward musical traditions, especially those

originating in Europe, but musical institutions

and visits by oreign classical artists were pri-

marily centered in the new capital. Although

much o Turkey’s cultural scene had its roots

in Istanbul, it was not until the 1980s and1990s that Istanbul reemerged globally as a

city whose cultural signicance is not solely

based on its past glory.

By the end o the 19th cent

established itsel as a region

with Turkish, European, and

artists ocking to the city. D

make Ankara Turkey’s cultu

bul had the country’s primary

until the 1970s. Furthermore

al universities and art journa

in Istanbul during the 1980s

based in Ankara moved in.

Shopping

Istanbul has numerous sh

rom the historic to the mo

Bazaar, in operation since 14

world’s oldest and largest

Mahmutpasha Bazaar is an

extending between the Gr

the Egyptian Bazaar, which

bul’s major spice market

leria Ataköy ushered in the

shopping malls in Turkey w

1987.Since then, malls hav

shopping centers outside th

sula. Akmerkez was awarded

rope’s best shopping mall byCouncil o Shopping Centers

evolved into high-end shoppin

Districts

*Sultanahmet

*Galata

*New City

*Bosphorus

*Golden Horn

*Princess’ Islands

*Asian Side

*European Side

*Western Suburbs

*Taksim Square

*Grand Bazaar

*Hagi Sophia

*Ortakoy

Istanbul

City Guide