|
|
|
|
| |
Known as Constantinople or Byzantium Istanbul is the biggest Turkish city; it was also the Capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1923. Istanbul is now a huge metropolis connecting cultures, continents, religions and being home to twelve million people. Thanks to its atypical geographic position the city is located in the north-west MARMARA which made it the only city in the world which is on two continents. The western position is in Europe while the eastern portion is in Asia and makes Istanbul an amazing cultural place of meeting.
The city of Istanbul has growth to be the principal economic pole of the country which confirm it competence in exchanging. This growth has also bring to Istanbul a Modern an dense net of transportation which give the city lot of facilities to come or even to move in town. Thanks to its two international airports Istanbul is now reachable from the entire world.
Furthermore the city of Istanbul is a fantastic place to visit famous monuments which are split into the three main district of the city: the historic peninsula, the areas north of the Golden Horn, and the Asian side are parts of it exceptional itsitage from it different empires.
The church Hagia Sophia, the blue mosque, the palace of Dolmabah?e, the mosque of Soliman the Magnificent, Valens Aqueduct, The Hippodrome of Constantinople, The Walls of Constantinople and much more are very important tourist places and also strong symbols of Istanbul Identity.
What is now called Asian Istanbul was probably inhabited by people as early as 3000 BC.
Eventually, in the 7th century, Greek colonists led by King Byzas established the colony of Byzantium, the Greek name for a city on the Bosphorus. Byzas chose the spot after consulting an oracle of Delphi who told him to settle across from the "land of the blind ones."
Indeed, Byzas concluded, earlier settlers must have been deprived of their sight to have overlooked this superb location at the mouth of the Bosphorus strait. This proved an auspicious decision by Byzas, as history has shown Istanbul's location important far beyond what these early Greek settlers might possibly have conceived. Byzas gave his name to the city: Byzantium.
In the early 100's BC, it became part of the Roman Empire and in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great made Byzantium capital of the entire Roman Empire. From that point on, the city was known as Constantinople.
The mid 400's AD was a time of enormous upheaval in the empire. Barbarians conquered the western Roman Empire while the Eastern, also called the Byzantine Empire, kept Constantinople as its capital. In 532 during the reign of Justinian I, antigovernment riots destroyed the city. It was rebuilt, and outstanding structures such as Hagia Sophia stand as monuments to the heights Byzantine culture reached.
The attribute that made the city so desirable, its incomparable location for trade and transport between three continents, was also its nemesis. For the next several hundred years Persians, Arabs, nomadic peoples, and members of the Fourth Crusade (who for a time governed the city) attacked Constantinople.
Finally, weakened by almost constant battle, the Ottoman Turks lead by Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453. Renamed Istanbul, it became the third and last capital of the Ottoman Empire. It was the nerve center for military campaigns that were to enlarge the Ottoman Empire dramatically. By the mid 1500's, Istanbul, with a population of almost half a million, was a major cultural, political, and commercial center. Ottoman rule continued until it was defeated in WWI and Istanbul was occupied by the allies.
When the Republic of Turkey was born in 1923 after the War of Independence, Kemal Ataturk moved the capital to the city of Ankara.
But Istanbul has continued to expand dramatically; today its population is approximately 13 million and increases at an estimated 700,000 immigrants per year. Industry has expanded even as tourism has grown. It continues to be a city that creates its own history at the intersection where both Continents meet.
There are many interesting museums, castles, palaces, mosques, churches, and historic hammams. Some of the interesting districts of the city are: Haydarpasa, Uskudar, Eyup, Galata, Perapalas, Ortak?y, Bosphorus, Taksim, Emin?n? and Sultanahmet. Princess Islands are a popular summer resort for local people.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
