More İnformation About Istanbul City
Turkey’s bigges city.Istanbul is one of my favorite cities in the world also Istanbul is one of the most interesting cities of Europa’s.It is a special brand of magic.
No another city in the world can rival Istanbul for glory of its setting.
Istanbul is a bridge between two continents(Asia and Europa).For centuries It has captured hearts and imaginations of travellers.
There are many historical place here: The Topkapi Palace,The Dolmabahce Palace,The Basilica of Cisteren,The Covered Bazaar.
The Sultanahmet Square is one of the oldest parts of city for that reason the Sultanahmet Square is one of the prime turist attractions place of Istanbul. Many of Istanbul’s historic building have been preserved and restored.
Istanbul is the most historical city of the world. Istanbul had been the capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantium Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
The city is built on two continents. The Asian and the European continent. The Bosphorus goes through the heart of the city. Istanbul is since 1923 not the capital city of Turkey, but it is still the most important city of Turkey, because it is the economical and cultural centre of Turkey.
The city excists out three parts, the parts are separated by the Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.
Istanbul counts 10 or 11 million inhabitants. The last 10 to 15 years there was a big movement from the countryside to the city. The city had grown in 15 years from 3,5 million to nearly 11 million inhabitants.
THE ARISE OF THE CITY:
The city had differnet names in 2600 years. The first name of the city was Byzantium, after Byzantium it was named Constantinapoles and now it is Istanbul.
The first habitations came into existence in Kadiköy which was named Khalkedon. It is said that in 657 before christ on the land between the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn a city was founded bij the Greeks, the Greeks named the city Byzantium, to the name of their leader Byzas.
CAPITAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
The city was made the capital of Rome in the year 330 by the emperor Constantinus, and named the city Constantinapoles which means “city of Constantinus”. The city is like Rome built on 7 hills.
After Rome was divided into two parts as the Eastern Rome and Western Rome, it was made the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Finally, when the Ottomans captured Byzantium in the year 1454, Istanbul was converted into the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Many historical works of art showing traces of thes empires, have been able to survive upto date.
The most improtant historical remain belonging to Byzantium is Hagia Sophia (The Galata Tower and the Maidens Tower). From the Ottoman period it is the Topkapi Palace, this palace was the centre of the Ottoman Empire, the government was constructed int the Topkapi Palace. Its is a museum today where the treasures belonging to the Ottoman Empire are exhibited. Other buildings: Dolmabahce Palace, Ciragan Palace, Suleymaniye Mosque and Sultanahmet Mosque(The Blue Mosque).
EUROPEAN SECTION
The European section of Istanbul is about twice the size of the Asian section and contains three-quarters of the city’s population.
European Istanbul is separated into old and modern sections by the Golden Horn.
GOLDEN HORN
The old section known as Istanbul, lies south of the Golden Horn, while the modern section the district of Galata and Beyoglu, is located in the north.
In the old section are a lot of historical buildings, like the Topkapi Palace for example. And the old Grand Bazaar, a big place with a lot of shops and streets, it is covered. They sell traditional things, it is a very touristic place.
In the modern section are a lot of modern buildings and modern shopping centers (Akmerkez)
ASIAN SECTION
The Asian section isn’t very touristic. There aren’t many historical buildings. Only modern buildings. It is nicer to live int the Asian section. It is beautiful too but not touristic, it is really modern. You can say that the Asian section is more modern than the European section.
THE BOSHOPHORUS
The Bosphorus which connects the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea is the most beautiful part of the city the Bosphorus always was extremely important, wether conrolled by the Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans or Turks.
The Bosphorus is so important because it connects the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea, so it is very important for the sea traffic. But since tankers became bigger several accidents occured.
Over the Bosphorus is a very important bridge the Bosphorus Bridge, the bridge connect the European and Asian section, before the bridge was built you could only passed the Bosphorus by boat, but nowadays you can pass it by car also, but by boat is easier, because the traffic is horrible. The view of the bridge by night is beautiful.
For tourists it is nice to make a Bosphorus tour. There is no nicer view of the city than from the Bosphorus. From the boat you’ll see the Dolmabahce Palace and the Ciragan Palace and the Rumeli Hisari, this was an Roman Castle, nowadays it is used for concerts. And to most beautiful place to live is along the Bosphorus.
