ISTANBUL
İstanbul is a historical city where Asia meets Europe.The first known dates as far back BC 5000.It also connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.Surrounding the Boshporus and part of the Sea of Marmara, its conquest by the Turks in 1453 resulted in a nem area in world history.Christian churches, Muslim mosques and Jewish synagogues are located so close to one another that tolls of church bells mix with azan from mosques.
The historical peninsula (Old City) lies between the Golden Horn (Haliç) on the southern end of the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara.This part of the city abounds in magnificent remains of the earliest settlements.Sultanahmet Square and the vicinity is a conservation area not just for its historical buildings but for streets and houses as well.Close to Ayasophia Church, the supreme masterpiece of Byzantine art built in 532-7, and to the Blue Mosque, decorated with most beatiful ceramic tiles.
The Topkapı Palace, where Ottoman Sultans lived over a period of four hundred years, the Roman Cisterns (Yerebatan Sarnıcı), with a total capacity of 80.000 m^3 supply of water, the Ibrahim Pasha Palace, the Carpet Museum, the Mosaic Museum, and the Istanbul Museum of Archeology are all in the area where a gigantic Byzantine Hippodrome with a hundred thousand capacity used to be.The Obelisk (Dikilitaş), one of the few remains of the Hippodrome is from the period of Emperor Theodosius, and the carefully restored Soğukçeşme Street is from the period of Ottomans.
The Covered Bazaar streches over a large area, including 4000 shops, office blocks, cafes and restaurants.Although its population is largely Muslim, Istanbul also hosts Greek Orthodox, Turkish Orthodox and Armenian patriarchates.
The historical peninsula was enclosed with a city wall, which has only partly survived.The Topkapı gate, where the Turkish conquerors first entered the city, and the Yedikule, which was used as dungeons during the Ottoman period, are the best preserved of all.
Numerous mosques, each representing a distinct architecture, are scattered all around the city.The most important ones are undoubttedly those built by the architect Sinan, one of the most prominent figures in the world history of architecture, and his biggest work in Istanbul is the Mosque of Süleyman.However, the masterpiece of Sinan, who managed so well to use gradients and uneven grounds as an architectural advantage, the Selimiye Mosque, is in Edirne.
Places of entertainment in Istanbul are concentrated in and around the Istiklal Caddesi, which is now a pedestrain zone with the exception of two nostalgic tramcars going up and down the high street.Istiklal Caddesi leads to the Taksim Square, which is one of the main centres of the city.
The incomparable Boğaziçi(Bosphorus) comes on top of all places of interest worth seeing in Istanbul.The Dolmabahçe Palace, where the Ottoman Sultans lived after the Topkapı was built in 1853 on the shores of the Bosphorus.
There are four islands in the Sea of Marmara that are to settlement and tourism: Büyükada, Kınalı, Heybeli, and Burgaz.There is a regular ferry service to these islands, and many people in Istanbul take a day out particularly on summer weekends on the beaches there.
Istanbul's intermixture with sea is not merely confined to the fact that it lies on both sides of the Bosphorus, but it stretches from the Black Sea in the north to the Sea of Marmara in the south.