2. • “ If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital. ”
• —Napoleon Bonaparte
3. • Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart.
Istanbul population of 13.9 million
• Istanbul is Europe's most populous city (the world's 3rd largest city proper and 20th largest urban area) and
Turkey's cultural and financial center. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural
harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace)
and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is
situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–
395), the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the
Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic
areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.
4. Historic Areas of Istanbul
The Blue Mosque
• The Blue Mosque in Istanbul was
built by Sultan Ahmet I (first) to
eclipse the grandeur of the
Christian church of Haghia Sophia
across the way, and grand it most
certainly is. During the years of its
construction from 1606-1613, the
Iznik tile producers were kept
extremely busy creating 999
shades for 20,000 blue tiles with
which to decorate its interior and
nearly 300 stained glass windows
were made to allow natural light
to percolate through to the rug-filled
floor below.
5. Grand Bazaar
Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi, or
Covered Market) is Turkey's largest
covered market offering excellent
shopping: beautiful Turkish carpets,
glazed tiles and pottery, copper and
brassware, apparel made of leather,
cotton and wool, meerschaum pipes,
alabaster bookends and ashtrays, and all
sorts of other things.
6. HAGHIA SOPHIA
• The first church to be built dedicated to
the Divine Wisdom, was officialy opened in
360 during the reign of Constantius, son of
Constantine the Great. Sultan Mehmet
the Conquerer he entered the city in 1453,
converted it into a mosque and served as
such for nearly five century. In 1935, by
the will of the Founder of the Turkish
Republic, Ataturk, it was declared a
National Museum.
7. Hippodrome - Sultanahmet
• Istanbul's Byzantine Hippodrome was the
heart of Constantinople's political and
sporting life, and the scene of games and
riots through 500 years of Ottoman history as
well.
It's now a calm city park called the At
Meydani (Horse Grounds) because of its
function in Ottoman times. Facing one
another across the park are the Blue Mosque
and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art.
8. Rumelihisari
• Rumelihisari, looking out over the Bosphorus.The Rumelihisari is a fortress
located between Sariyer and Bebek districts of Istanbul. It was built by
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, in 1451, before he conquered Constantinople,
to prevent Crusaders coming from the Black Sea. The land that the castle
was built upon was technically Byzantine territory and when the Byzantine
emperor Constantine XI sent an embassy to Mehmed to protest the sultan
had the ambassadors seized and executed. Constantine then knew the
construction of the castle was the prelude to an attack on his city which
followed two years later.
9. Turkish Bath - HAMAM
The tradition of the Turkish bath extends far back, to a
time before Turks had reached Anatolia. When the
Turks arrived in Anatolia, they brought with them one
bathing tradition, and were confronted with another,
that of Romans and Byzantines, with certain local
variants. The traditions merged, and with the addition
of the Moslem concern for cleanliness and its
concomitant respect for the uses of water, there arose
an entirely new concept, that of the Turkish Bath. In
time it became an institution, with its system of
ineradicable customs...
10. The BASILICA CISTERN (Yerebatan)
One of the magnificent historical constructions of Istanbul is the Basilica Cistern, located near
south-west of Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia). This cistern that was laid on an area of total 9.800 m2 has
the capacity to store 100.000 tons of water.
11. TOPKAPI PALACE
• It is located on the promontory of the historical peninsula in Istanbul
which overlooks both the Marmara Sea and the Bosphorus. The
walls enclosing the palace grounds, the main gate on the land side
and the first buildings were constructed during the time of Fatih
Sultan Mehmet (the Conqueror) (1451 - 81).
12. Galata Tower
Galata Tower has dominated
Beyoglu's skyline since 1348
and still offers the best
panoramic views of the city.
Originally named the Tower
of Christ, it was the highpoint
in the city walls of the
Genoese colony called
Galata.The walls are long
gone, but the great tower
remains.
Until the 1960s it was a fire
lookout tower. Now the upper
floors hold an uninteresting
restaurant-nightclub, and a
panorama balcony.
13. The Maiden's Tower
• The Maiden's Tower (Turkish:
Kız Kulesi), also known as
Leander's Tower (Tower of
Leandros) since the medieval
Byzantine period, is a tower
lying on a small islet located at
the southern entrance of the
Bosphorus strait 200 m (220
yd) from the coast of Üsküdar
in Istanbul,
• Today, there is a restaurant in
the first floor and a café at the
top of the tower.
