Overview
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the only metropolis in the world that straddles two continents, with neighborhoods on both the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus Strait. The city has a population of around 16 million, making it the most populous city in Europe and the seventh-largest city proper in the world.
Geography and Physical Features
Istanbul lies at the meeting point of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, with the Bosphorus Strait connecting them. The Golden Horn, an estuary that divides the European side, has formed one of the world's great natural harbors. The city covers about 5,343 square kilometers and is built across rolling hills on both sides of the strait.
Significance
Founded around 660 BC as Byzantium, the city was rebuilt as Constantinople by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in AD 330 and served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires across nearly 1,600 years. Renamed Istanbul in 1930, it remains Turkey's economic, cultural, and historic center.
Notable Facts
The Hagia Sophia, originally built as a Byzantine cathedral in AD 537, served as a mosque, then a museum, and is again a mosque today. The Topkapi Palace was the primary residence of Ottoman sultans for 400 years. The Grand Bazaar, dating from the 15th century, is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world.