(Redirected from İstanbul)
'Istanbul' (,
Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολη, historically '
Byzantium' and later '
Constantinople'; see
other names) is
Turkey's most populous
city, and its cultural and financial center. The city covers 25 districts of the
Istanbul province. It is located at 41° N 29° E, 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 (Constantinople) served as the capital city of the
Roman Empire (330-395), the
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.
Names
The city of Istanbul has had many names throughout its history, depending on the
culture,
language, and
religion of its rulers.
Byzantium,
Constantinople,
Stamboul and
Tsarigrad are examples that may still be found in active use in certain countries. Among others, it has been called ''New Rome'' or ''
Second Rome'', since the
Roman Emperor Constantine the Great founded it on the site of the ancient Greek city of
Byzantium as a second, and decidedly Christian, capital of the
Roman Empire, in contrast to the still largely pagan
Rome.
[2] It has also been nicknamed "The City on Seven Hills" because the
historic peninsula, the oldest part of the city, was built by Constantine on seven hills to match the seven hills of Rome. The hills are represented in the city's coat of arms with seven
mosques, one at the top of each hill.
[3] Another old nickname of Istanbul is ''Vasileousa Polis'' (''Queen of Cities''), which rose from its importance and wealth throughout the
Middle Ages.
With the Turkish Postal Service Law of March 28, 1930, the Turkish authorities officially requested foreigners to cease referring to the city with their traditional non-Turkish names (such as Constantinople, Tsarigrad, etc.) and to adopt Istanbul as the sole name also in their own languages.
[4] Letters or packages sent to "Constantinople" instead of "Istanbul" were no longer delivered by Turkey's
PTT, which contributed to the eventual worldwide adoption of the new name. Similarly, letters or packages that were sent to "Smyrna" instead of
Izmir, "Angora" instead of
Ankara, "Trebizond" instead of
Trabzon, and other ancient city names were no longer delivered; a measure which forced the quick worldwide recognition of the modern Turkish names of every prominent city in the country.
History
Main articles: History of Istanbul
The first human settlement in Istanbul, the Fikirtepe mound on the Anatolian side, is from the
Chalcolithic period, with artifacts dating from 5500–3500 BC. A port settlement dating back to the
Phoenicians has been discovered in nearby
Kadıköy (
Chalcedon). Cape Moda in Chalcedon was the first location which the
Greek settlers of
Megara chose to colonize in
685 BC, prior to colonising
Byzantion on the European side of the Bosphorus under the command of King
Byzas in
667 BC. Byzantion was established on the site of an ancient port settlement named ''Lygos'', founded by
Thracian tribes between the 13th and 11th centuries BC, along with the neighbouring ''Semistra'',
[5] of which
Plinius had mentioned in his historical accounts. Only a few walls and substructures belonging to Lygos have survived to date, near the Seraglio Point (
Turkish: ''Sarayburnu''), where the famous
Topkapı Palace now stands. During the period of Byzantion, the Acropolis used to stand where the Topkapı Palace stands today.
After siding with
Pescennius Niger against the victorious
Septimius Severus the city was
besieged by
Rome and suffered extensive damage in AD
196. Byzantium was rebuilt by the
Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and quickly regained its previous prosperity, being temporarily renamed as ''Augusta Antonina'' by the emperor, in honor of his son.
The location of Byzantium attracted
Constantine the Great in
324 after a prophetic dream was said to have identified the location of the city; but the true reason behind this prophecy was probably Constantine's final victory over
Licinius at the
Battle of Chrysopolis (
Üsküdar) on the
Bosphorus, on September 18, 324, which ended the civil war between the Roman Co-Emperors, and brought an end to the final vestiges of the
Tetrarchy system, during which
Nicomedia (present-day
İzmit, 100 km east of Istanbul) was the most senior Roman capital city. Byzantium (now renamed as ''
Nova Roma'' which eventually became ''
Constantinopolis'', i.e. ''The City of Constantine'') was officially proclaimed the new capital of the
Roman Empire six years later, in
330. Following the death of
Theodosius I in
395 and the permanent partition of the Roman Empire between his two sons, Constantinople became the capital of the
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. As well as being the centre of an imperial dynasty, the unique position of Constantinople at the centre of two continents made the city a magnet for international
commerce,
culture and
diplomacy. The Byzantine Empire was distinctly Greek in culture and became the centre of
Greek Orthodox Christianity, while its capital was adorned with many magnificent
churches, including the
Hagia Sophia, once the world's largest
cathedral. The seat of the
Patriarch of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the
Eastern Orthodox Church, still remains in the
Fener (
Phanar) district of Istanbul.
In
1204, the
Fourth Crusade was launched to capture
Jerusalem, but had instead turned on Constantinople, which was sacked and desecrated.
[6] The city subsequently became the centre of the Catholic
Latin Empire, created by the crusaders to replace the Orthodox Byzantine Empire, which was divided into a number of splinter states, of which the
Empire of Nicaea was to recapture Constantinople in
1261 under the command of
Michael VIII Palaeologus.
Following centuries of decline, Constantinople became surrounded by more youthful and powerful empires, most notably that of the
Ottoman Turks. On 29 May 1453,
Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" entered
Constantinople after a 53–day
siege and the city was promptly made the new capital of the
Ottoman Empire. In the last decades of the Byzantine Empire, the city had decayed as the Byzantine state became increasingly isolated and financially bankrupt, its population had dwindled to some thirty or forty thousand people whilst large sections remained uninhabited.
[7] Thus, Sultan Mehmed's first duty was to rejuvenate the city economically, creating the
Grand Bazaar and inviting the fleeing Orthodox and Catholic inhabitants to return back. Captured prisoners were freed to settle in the city whilst provincial governors in Rumelia and Anatolia were ordered to send four thousand families to settle in the city, whether Muslim, Christian or Jew, to form a unique
cosmopolitan society.
[8] The Sultan also endowed the city with various architectural monuments, including the
Topkapı Palace and the
Eyüp Sultan Mosque. Religious foundations were established to fund the construction of grand imperial mosques (such as the
Fatih Mosque which was built on the spot where the
Church of the Holy Apostles once stood), adjoined by their associated
schools,
hospitals and
public baths.
Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign was a period of great
artistic and
architectural achievements. The famous architect
Sinan designed many mosques and other grand
buildings in the city, while Ottoman arts of
ceramics and
calligraphy also flourished. Many of these
Tekkes survive to this day; some in the form of mosques while others have become museums such as the
Cerrahi Tekke and the
Sünbül Efendi and Ramazan Efendi
Mosques and
Türbes in
Fatih, the Galata Mevlevihanesi in
Beyoğlu, the Yahya Efendi
Tekke in
Beşiktaş, and the
Bektaşi Tekke in
Kadıköy, which now serves
Alevi Muslims as a
Cemevi.
The city was modernized from the 1870s onwards with the construction of bridges, the creation of a proper water system, the use of electric lights, and the introduction of
streetcars and
telephones.
When the Republic of
Turkey was founded in
1923, the capital was moved from Istanbul to
Ankara. In the early years of the republic, Istanbul was overlooked in favour of the new capital. However, in the 1950s, Istanbul underwent great structural change, as new roads and factories were constructed throughout the city. Wide modern boulevards, avenues and public squares were built in Istanbul, sometimes at the expense of the demolition of many historical buildings. The city's once numerous and prosperous
Greek community, remnants of the city's Greek origins, dwindled in the aftermath of the
1955 Istanbul Pogrom, with most Greeks in Turkey leaving their homes for
Greece.
During the
1970s, the population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase as people from
Anatolia migrated to the city in order to find employment in the many new factories that were constructed at the outskirts of the city. This sudden sharp increase in the population caused a rapid rise in housing development (some of poor quality, resulting in deaths and injuries during frequent
earthquakes that hit the city) and many previously outlying villages became engulfed into the greater metropolis of Istanbul.
Today, as well as being the country's largest city, Istanbul is the financial, cultural, and economic centre of modern
Turkey.
Geography
Istanbul is located in the north-west
Marmara Region of Turkey. It encloses the southern
Bosphorus which places the city on two continents – the western portion of Istanbul is in
Europe, while the eastern portion is in
Asia. The city boundaries cover a surface area of 1,539 square kilometers, while the metropolitan region, or the
Province of Istanbul, covers 6,220 square kilometers.
Climate
The city has a
temperate-
continental climate, with hot and humid summers; and cold, rainy and often snowy winters. Humidity is generally rather high which can make temperatures feel much warmer or colder than they actually are. Yearly precipitation for Istanbul averages 870 mm. Snowfall is quite common, snowing for a week or two during the winter season, but it can be heavy once it snows. It is most likely to occur between the months of December and March. The summer months between June and September bring average daytime temperatures of 28 °C (82 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 23.3 °C (74 °F), the coldest is January with 5.6 °C (42 °F). The weather becomes slightly cooler as one moves toward eastern Istanbul. Summer is by far the driest season, although there is no real summer drought such as that occurs further west. The city is quite windy, having an average wind speed of 17 km/h (11 mph).
Satellite photo over Istanbul and the
BosphorusGeology
Panoramic view of the
Bosphorus from the hills of the Ulus neighbourhood
Istanbul is situated near the
North Anatolian fault line, which runs from northern
Anatolia to the
Marmara Sea. Two
tectonic plates, the African and the Eurasian, push against each other here. This fault line has been responsible for several deadly
earthquakes in the region throughout history. In
1509, a catastrophic earthquake caused a tsunami which broke over the sea-walls of the city, destroying over 100
mosques and killing 10,000 people. In
1766, the
Eyüp Sultan Mosque was largely destroyed. The
1894 earthquake caused the collapse of many parts of the
Grand Bazaar. A devastating earthquake in August
1999, with its epicenter in nearby
Kocaeli, left 18,000 dead and many more homeless.
[9][10] In all of these earthquakes, the devastating effects are a result of the close settlement and poor construction of buildings. Seismologists predict another earthquake, possibly measuring 7.0 on the
Richter scale, occurring before
2025.
[11]
Cityscape
Architecture
The 4th century
Hagia Irene, built by
Constantine, is the oldest continuously standing Byzantine church in the city. It was enlarged by
Justinian in the 6th century. The mosaics in its interior were removed during the
iconoclastic period and replaced with a simple cross
The city has many architecturally significant entities, please see the
list of architectural structures in Istanbul. Throughout its long history, Istanbul has acquired a reputation for being a cultural and ethnic melting pot. As a result, there are many historical mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers to visit in the city.
The most important monuments of Roman architecture in the city include the Column of Constantine (
Turkish: ''Çemberlitaş'') which was erected in
330 and contains several fragments of the Original Cross and the bowl with which Virgin Mary washed the feet of Jesus (along with several other important artifacts) at its base, the Mazulkemer Aqueduct and
Valens Aqueduct, Column of the Goths (''Gotlar Sütunu'') at the Seraglio Point, the ''Milion'' which served for calculating the distances between Constantinople and other cities of the Roman Empire, and the
Hippodrome of Constantinople which was built following the model of the
Circus Maximus in
Rome.
Construction of the
Walls of Constantinople began under
Constantine the Great, who enlarged the previously existing walls of Byzantium in order to defend the new Roman capital city which quickly grew following its proclamation as Nova Roma. A new set of walls was built further west during the reign of
Theodosius II, and rebuilt after an earthquake in
447 in their current shape. The ''sea walls'' in the Sarayburnu (Seraglio Point) area, which have continuously existed since Lygos and Byzantium, are the oldest part of the city walls; while the ''triple land walls'' of Theodosius II at the western end of the city are the strongest parts. The northwestern section of the land walls was built in
627, during the reign of
Heraclius, in order to accommodate the suburb of
Blachernae, and added to by later emperors. The city walls had 55 gates, the largest of which was the Porta Aurea (Golden Gate), the ceremonial entrance gate used by the Emperors, at the southwestern end of the triple land walls, close to the Sea of Marmara. Unlike the city walls which were built of brick and limestone, the Porta Aurea was built of large clean-cut white marble blocks in order to distinguish it from the rest, and a quadriga with elephant statues stood on its top.
[13] The doors of the Porta Aurea were made of gold, hence the name, which means ''Golden Gate'' in Latin.
[13] In
1458 the Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed II built the Yedikule (Seven Towers) Castle to defend the Porta Aurea, which was incorporated into this castle and still stands as a part of the pentagon-shaped layout of the castle walls. The ''Column of
Marcian'' (
Turkish: ''Kıztaşı'') erected by
Marcianus (reigned 450-457) dates from the same period as the triple land walls of Theodosius II.
_Monastery_in_Istanbul.jpg)
Stoudios Monastery, built in 462, is the oldest surviving Byzantine church in the city with its original form (the 4th century
Hagia Irene is older, but was enlarged during the reign of
Justinian, when it received its current exterior appearance). Many important decisions regarding
Christianity were made inside the Stoudios, which was the most important
monastery of Constantinople
The early Byzantine architecture followed the classical Roman model of domes and arches, but further improved these architectural concepts, as evidenced with the
Hagia Sophia which was designed by Isidorus and Anthemius as the third church to rise on this location, between
532 and
537, following the
Nika Revolt (532) during which the second church was destroyed (the first church, known as the ''Megala Ekklessia'' (''Great Church'') was inaugurated by
Constantius II in
360; the second church was inaugurated by
Theodosius II in
405, while the third and current one was inaugurated by
Justinian in
537). The
Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, which was the first church built by
Justinian in Constantinople and edificed between
527 and
536, had earlier signaled such an improvement in the design of domed buildings, which require complex solutions for carrying the structure. The
Hagia Irene and
Basilica Cistern are also from this period.
Even though most Byzantine churches that were built or enlarged by
Justinian in the 6th century were originally built in the 4th century at the time of
Constantine, the oldest surviving Byzantine church in Istanbul with its original form is the
Stoudios (İmrahor) Monastery, which was built in
462. The monastery is also known as ''St. John Stoudios'' because it was dedicated to
St. John the Baptist. The roof of the building doesn't exist today, but its surrounding walls as well as its splendid floor decorations are still intact. Many important decisions regarding Christianity were made inside this building, including the heated debates on the identity of
Virgin Mary (whether or not she was ''
Theotokos'' (''Mother of God'') and whether it was right to condemn
Nestorius who opposed this definition) as well as the debates and clashes on
Iconoclasm.
The most extant Byzantine structure which has survived from the reign of
Heraclius (
610–
641) is the
Prisons of Anemas[16], incorporated into the city walls, at
Blachernae. It is a huge castle-like structure with several towers and a network of underground Byzantine prisons.
Many churches with magnificent golden icons were built until the 8th century, when these icons were destroyed during the
First Iconoclastic Period (730-787) which began with the reign of
Leo III the Isaurian. Similar to the
Islamic belief that images of
Muhammad should be forbidden, the
Orthodox Christian iconoclasts of this period also believed that the images of Christ and other figures of Christianity on the walls of the churches constituted a sin, and they forcefully had them removed, despite the resistance of the priests who defended the icons, often causing civil strife. This was followed by the Second Iconoclastic Period (814-842) which was initiated by
Leo V the Armenian.
Following the decision by
Theodora, wife of Theophilus, to restore the icons in
843, many churches and other prominent Byzantine buildings in the city were adorned with new icons, but some, like
Hagia Irene, still bear the signs of the iconoclastic period. The
Boukoleon Palace largely dates from the reign of
Theophilus.
[17]
During the
Fourth Crusade in
1204, most of the city's important buildings were sacked, and numerous architectural and artistic treasures were shipped to
Venice, whose
Doge,
Enrico Dandolo, had organized the sack of Constantinople. These items include the famous Statue of the Tetrarchs and the four bronze horse statues that once stood at the top of the
Hippodrome of Constantinople, which today stand on the front facade of the
Saint Mark's Basilica in
Venice (the basilica itself was modeled after the
Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, just like the
Doge's Palace was modeled after the
Boukoleon Palace).
The
Palace of Porphyrogenitus (
Turkish: ''Tekfur Sarayı''), which is the only surviving part of the
Blachernae Palace, dates from the period of the Fourth Crusade. In these years, on the northern side of the
Golden Horn, the Dominican priests of the Catholic Church built the
Church of Saint Paul in
1233.
The most important churches which were built after the Byzantines took Constantinople back in
1261 include the
Pammakaristos Church and
Chora Church. Also in this period, the
Genoese Podestà of
Galata, Montani de Marinis, built the ''Palazzo del Comune'' (
1314), a copy of the San Giorgio Palace in
Genoa, which still stands in ruins on the back streets of ''Bankalar Caddesi'' in Galata, together with its adjacent buildings and numerous Genoese houses from the early 1300s. The Genoese also built the
Galata Tower, which they named as ''Christea Turris'' (Tower of Christ), at the highest point of the citadel of Galata, in
1348.
The Ottoman Turks built the
Anatolian Castle on the Asian side of the Bosphorus in
1394, and the
Rumeli Castle at the opposite (European) shore, in
1452, a year before the conquest of
Constantinople. The main purpose of these castles, armed with the long range ''Balyemez'' (''Faule Metze'') cannons, was to block the sea traffic of the Bosphorus and prevent the support ships from the
Genoese colonies on the
Black Sea ports, such as
Caffa,
Sinop, and
Amasra, from reaching Constantinople and helping the Byzantines during the Turkish siege of the city.
Following the Ottoman conquest of the city, Sultan
Mehmed II initiated a wide scale reconstruction plan, which included the construction of grand buildings such as the
Eyüp Sultan Mosque,
Fatih Mosque,
Topkapı Palace,
The Grand Bazaar and the
Yedikule (Seven Towers) Castle which guarded the main entrance gate of the city, the Porta Aurea (Golden Gate). In the centuries following Mehmed II, many new important buildings, such as the
Süleymaniye Mosque,
Sultanahmet Mosque,
Yeni Mosque and numerous others were constructed.
Traditionally, Ottoman buildings were built of ornate wood. Only "state buildings" such as palaces and mosques were built of stone. Starting from the 18th and 19th centuries, wood was gradually replaced with stone as the primary building material, while traditional Ottoman architectural styles were replaced with European architectural styles, particularly following the
Tanzimat movement which effectively started Turkey's Europeanization process in
1839. But even before the Tanzimat period, European styles began to appear in the city, such as the
Baroque style interiors of the Aynalıkavak Palace (1677-1679) and Nuruosmaniye Mosque (1748-1755, the first Baroque style mosque in the city, also famous for its Baroque fountain), and the 18th century Baroque additions to the Harem section of
Topkapı Palace.
New palaces and mosques were built in
Neoclassical,
Baroque and
Rococo styles, or a mixture of all three, such as the
Dolmabahçe Palace,
Dolmabahçe Mosque and
Ortaköy (Mecidiye) Mosque. Even
Neo-Gothic mosques were built, such as the Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque and Yıldız (Hamidiye) Mosque. Large state buildings like schools or military barracks were also built in various European styles.
Starting from the early 19th century, the areas around
İstiklal Avenue were filled with grandiose embassy buildings belonging to prominent European states, and rows of European (mostly Neoclassical and later
Art Nouveau) style buildings started to appear on both flanks of the avenue. Istanbul especially became a major center of the Art Nouveau movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with famous architects of this style like
Raimondo D'Aronco building many palaces and mansions in the city proper and on the
Princes' Islands. His most important works in the city include several buildings of the ''Yıldız Palace'' complex, and the ''Botter House'' on İstiklal Avenue. The famous ''
Camondo Stairs'' on Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) in
Karaköy (
Galata) is also a beautiful example of Art Nouveau architecture. Other important examples are the ''Hıdiv Kasrı'' (Khedive Palace) on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, ''Flora Han'' in
Sirkeci, and ''Frej Apartmanı'' in the Şişhane quarter of
Beyoğlu.
Thus, by the mid 19th century, the southern part of the
Golden Horn (the historic peninsula of Constantinople) had a traditionally Ottoman Turkish appearance and population, while the northern part of the Golden Horn became more and more Europeanized both in terms of architecture and in terms of demographics. The
Galata Bridge had become a connection between the oriental and occidental (southern and northern) parts of the European side of Istanbul.
The
Bosphorus was regarded as a summer resort during the Ottoman period and the traditional wooden houses and mansions, called ''
yalı'', were the choice of the wealthy Ottoman elite. Most of the development happened during the
Tulip Period, a period which is best represented by the
Sadullah Paşa Yalısı built in 1783. The oldest surviving yalı is the
Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha yalı located in Kandilli on the Asiatic shores of the Bosphorus and dates from 1699. The wooden seaside chalet mansions retained their basic architectural principles until the middle of the 19th century, when they were gradually replaced by less flammable brick houses especially during the
First Constitutional Period. The development of
yalıs lasted until the
First World War.
Urbanism
Akmerkez in the quarter of
Etiler is the only shopping mall in the world which won both "Europe's Best" and "World's Best" awards by
ICSC 
The 6 km long
Bağdat Avenue has rows of shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants lining up its wide granite pavements on both flanks
The urban landscape is constantly changing. In the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods, the city was largely made up of the historic peninsula of
Constantinople, with the citadel of
Galata (also called ''Sykae'' or ''
Pera'') at north, and
Chrysopolis (
Üsküdar) and
Chalcedon (
Kadıköy) at east, across the
Bosphorus. These were all independent cities back then. The present City of Istanbul can be considered the metropolitan area of old Constantinople, encompassing every single settlement around the original city, and expanding even further with the establishment of new neighbourhoods and districts since the 19th century.
Until the early 19th century, the city walls of
Galata, the medieval
Genoese citadel, used to stand. These Genoese fortifications, of which only the
Galata Tower stands today, were demolished in the early 1800s to give way for a northwards expansion of the city, towards the districts of
Beşiktaş,
Şişli,
Nişantaşı, and beyond.
In the last decades, numerous tall structures were built around the city to accommodate a rapid growth in population. Surrounding towns were absorbed into Istanbul as the city rapidly expanded outwards. The tallest highrise office and residential buildings are mostly located in the northern areas of the European side, and especially in the business and shopping districts of
Levent,
Maslak, and
Etiler which are situated between the
Bosphorus Bridge and
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. Levent and Etiler also have numerous upmarket shopping malls, like
Kanyon,
Metrocity,
Akmerkez,
Mayadrom and
Mayadrom Uptown. The headquarters of Turkey's largest companies and banks are also located in this area.
Starting from the second half of the 20th century, the Asian side of Istanbul, which was originally a tranquil place full of seaside summer residences and elegant chalet mansions surrounded by lush and vast umbrella pine gardens, experienced a massive urban growth. The construction of the long, wide and elegant
Bağdat Avenue, with its rows of upscale shops and restaurants, contributed much to the initial expansion in the area. The fact that these areas were largely empty until the 1960s also provided the chance for developing better infrastructure and a tidier urban planning when compared with most other residential areas in the city. But the real expansion of the Asian side came with the opening of ''Ankara Asfaltı'', the Asian extension of the E5 highway, which is located to the north of Bağdat Avenue, parallel to the railway line. Another important factor in the recent growth of the Asian side of the city was migration from
Anatolia. Today, more than 1/3 of the city's population live in the Asian side of Istanbul.
As a result of Istanbul's exponential growth during the second half of the 20th century, a significant portion of the city's outskirts consist of ''
gecekondus'', a Turkish word created in the 1940s meaning ‘built overnight’ and refers to the illegally constructed squatter buildings that comprise entire neighbourhoods and run rampant outside the historic centers of Turkey’s largest cities, especially Istanbul,
Ankara,
İzmir, and
Bursa. According to the official definition stated in the ''Gecekondu'' Act of
1966, these neighbourhoods are typically built on abandoned land or on lands owned by others, without the permission of the landowner, and do not obey building codes and regulations. At present, gecekondu areas are being gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds.
Administration
Organization
As of 2007, the metropolitan mayor of Istanbul is
Kadir Topbaş, see
list of mayors of Istanbul. Istanbul is a
home rule city and municipal elections are mainly
partisan. The metropolitan model of governance has been used with the establishment of metropolitan administration in 1930. The metropolitan council is accepted as the competent authority for decision-making. The metropolitan government structure consists of three main organs: (1) The Metropolitan Mayor (elected every five years), (2) The Metropolitan Council (decision making body with the mayor, district Mayors, and one fifth of the district municipal councilors), (3) The metropolitan executive committee. There are three types of local authorities: (1) municipalities, (2) special provincial administrations, (3) village administrations. Among the local authorities, municipalities are gaining greater importance with the rise in urbanization.
Districts
Istanbul has 31 districts. However, these can be divided into three main areas: (1) the historic peninsula, (2) the areas north of the
Golden Horn, and (3) the Asian side.
The ''Historic Peninsula'' of old İstanbul comprises the districts of
Eminönü and
Fatih. This area lies on the southern shores of the
Golden Horn which separates the old city center from the northern and younger parts of the European side. The ''Historic Peninsula'' ends with the
Theodosian Land Walls in the west. The peninsula is surrounded by the
Sea of Marmara on the south and the
Bosphorus on the east.
North of the
Golden Horn are the historical
Beyoğlu and
Beşiktaş districts, where
the last Sultan's palace is located, followed by a chain of former villages such as
Ortaköy and
Bebek along the shores of the Bosphorus. On both the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus, wealthy Istanbulites built luxurious chalet mansions, called ''
yalı'', which were used as summer residences.
The quarters of
Üsküdar (
Chrysopolis) and
Kadıköy (
Chalcedon) which are located on the Asian side were originally independent cities, like
Beyoğlu (
Pera) also used to be. Today they are full of modern residential areas and business districts, and are home to around one-third of Istanbul's population.
Demographics
Check the for the data (there is a table that generated this info)
The population of the metropolis has more than tripled during the 25 years between
1980 and
2005. Roughly 70% of all Istanbulites live in the European section and around 30% live in the Asian section. The graph shows the numbers of inhabitants by year. The doubling of the population of Istanbul between 1980 and 1985 is due to a natural increase in population as well as the expansion of municipal limits.
According to the 2000
census, the population was 8,803,468 (city proper) and 10,018,735 (metro area). The census bureau estimate for
July 20,
2005 was 11,322,000 for the
province, which is generally considered as the metropolitan area, making it one of the twenty
largest metropolitan areas in the world.
Religion
The urban landscape of Istanbul is shaped by many communities. The most important and most populous major religion is
Islam. The first mosque in Istanbul was built in
Kadıköy (ancient
Chalcedon) on the Asian side of the city, which was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in
1353, a full century before the conquest of
Constantinople across the
Bosphorus, on the European side. The first mosque on the European side of Istanbul was built inside the
Rumeli Castle in
1452. The first grand mosque which was built in the city proper is the
Eyüp Sultan Mosque (
1458), while the first imperial mosque inside the
city walls was the
Fatih Mosque (
1470) which was built on the site of the
Church of the Holy Apostles, an important
Byzantine church which was originally edificed in the time of
Constantine the Great. Many other imperial mosques were built in the following centuries, such as the famous
Süleymaniye Mosque (
1557) which was ordered by
Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the great Ottoman architect
Sinan, and the famous
Sultan Ahmet Mosque (
1616) which is also known as the ''
Blue Mosque'' for the blue tiles which adorn its interior.
Istanbul was the final seat of the
Islamic Caliphate, between
1517 and
1924. The personal belongings of
Mohammed and the earliest
Caliphs who followed him are today preserved in the
Topkapı Palace, the
Eyüp Sultan Mosque and in several other prominent mosques of Istanbul.
According to the
2000 census, there were 2691 active
mosques, 123 active
churches and 26 active
synagogues in Istanbul; as well as 109 Muslim cemeteries and 57 non-Muslim cemeteries. Religious minorities include
Greek Orthodox Christians,
Armenian Christians,
Catholic Levantines and
Sephardic Jews. Some districts have sizeable populations of these ethnic groups, such as the
Kumkapı district which has a sizeable
Armenian population, the
Balat district which has a sizeable
Jewish population, the
Fener district which has a sizeable
Greek population, and some neighbourhoods in the
Nişantaşı and
Beyoğlu districts which have sizeable
Levantine populations. In some quarters, such as
Kuzguncuk, an Armenian church sits next to a synagogue, and on the other side of the road a Greek Orthodox church is found beside a mosque.
The seat of the
Patriarch of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the
Greek Orthodox Church is located in the
Fener (
Phanar) district. Also based in Istanbul are the archbishop of the Turkish-
Orthodox community, an
Armenian archbishop, and the Turkish Grand-
Rabbi.
Following the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in
1453, the Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed II established the
Millet System, according to which the different ethnic groups within Constantinople and the rest of the Ottoman Empire were to be governed by a group of institutions based on faith. For this purpose, Mehmed II also founded previously non-existent religious authorities such as the
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in
1461. Earlier, the Byzantines considered the Armenian Church as
heretic and did not allow the Armenians to have churches inside the
walls of Constantinople. Several Armenian saints, such as
Saint Narses, were exiled and imprisoned in the
Princes' Islands near Constantinople, in the
Sea of Marmara. With the Millet System, a great deal of the internal affairs regarding these communities were assigned to the administration of these religious authorities; such as the
Ecumenical Patriarchate for the affairs of all Orthodox Christians, the Armenian Patriarchate for the affairs of the Armenian (and for some time also the Syriac) Christians, and later the Grand Rabbi for the affairs of the Jews.
The population of the Armenian and Greek minorities in Istanbul greatly declined beginning in the late 19th century. The city's Greek Orthodox community were exempted from the
population exchange between Greece and Turkey of 1923. However, a series of special restrictions and taxes beginning in the 1930s (see, e.g., ''
Varlık Vergisi''), finally culminating in the
Istanbul Pogrom of 1955, greatly increased emigration, and in 1964, all Greeks without Turkish citizenship residing in Turkey (around 100,000) were deported. Today, most of Turkey's remaining Greek and Armenian minorities live in or near Istanbul. Beside the
Levantines, who are the descendants of European traders (mostly
Genoese,
Venetian and
French) who established trading outposts during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, there is also a small, scattered number of
Bosphorus Germans. A number of places reflect past movements of different communities into Istanbul, most notably
Arnavutköy (Albanian village),
Polonezköy (Polish village) and
Yeni Bosna (New Bosnia).
The
Sephardic Jews have lived in the city for over 500 years, see the
history of the Jews in Turkey. Together with the
Arabs, the Sephardic Jews fled the
Iberian Peninsula during the
Spanish Inquisition of
1492, when they were forced to convert to Christianity after the fall of the
Moorish Kingdom of Andalucia. The Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid II (
1481-
1512) sent a sizeable fleet to
Spain under the command of
Kemal Reis in order to save the Arabs and Sephardic Jews who were tortured and killed because of their faith. More than 200,000 Spanish Jews fled first to
Tangier,
Algiers,
Genova and
Marseille, later to
Salonica and finally to Istanbul. The Sultan granted Ottoman citizenship to over 93,000 of these Spanish Jews. Another large group of Sephardic Jews came from southern
Italy which was under Spanish control. The ''İtalyan Sinagogu'' (''Italian Synagogue'') in
Galata is mostly frequented by the descendants of these Italian Jews in Istanbul. The Sephardic Jews of Iberia and Italy contributed much to the rising power of the
Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. The first
Gutenberg press in Istanbul was established by the Sephardic Jews in
1493, who excelled in many areas, particularly
medicine,
trade and
banking. The
Camondo family was highly influential in the Ottoman banking sector. The famous ''Camondo Stairs'' on the ''Bankalar Caddesi'' (''Banks Street'') in
Karaköy (
Galata) was built by them. More than 20,000 Sephardic Jews still remain in Istanbul today.
There is also a relatively smaller and more recent community of
Ashkenazi Jews in Istanbul who continue to live in the city since the 19th century. The ''Avusturya Sinagogu'' (''Austrian Synagogue''), also known as the ''Aşkenaz (Askhenazi) Sinagogu'' is one of the most famous synagogues in Istanbul and stands out with its interesting architecture. A second large wave of Ashkenazi Jews came to Istanbul during the 1930s and 1940s following the rise of
Nazism in
Germany which persecuted the Ashkenazi Jews of central and eastern Europe.
Today, a total of 26 active synagogues are to be found in the city, the most important of them being the
Neve Shalom Synagogue inaugurated in
1951, in the
Beyoğlu quarter. The Turkish Grand Rabbi in Istanbul (currently Ishak Haleva) presides over community affairs. A decrease in the population of the city's Jewish community occurred after the independence of the
State of Israel in 1948, but the Turkish Jews who migrated to that country helped to establish strong relationships between Turkey and Israel. The founders of the State of Israel and prominent Israeli politicians such as
David Ben-Gurion,
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and
Moshe Shertok had all studied in the leading Turkish schools of Istanbul in their youth, namely
Galatasaray Lisesi and
Istanbul University.
Arap Mosque, originally built as the Dominican Church of St. Paul in 1233, is one of the most important buildings dating from the
Latin Empire
During the Byzantine period, the
Genoese Podestà ruled over the Italian community of
Galata, which was mostly made up of the Genoese,
Venetians,
Tuscans and
Ragusans. Following the Turkish siege of Constantinople in 1453, during which the Genoese sided with the Byzantines and defended the city together with them, the Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed II allowed the Genoese (who had fled to their colonies in the
Aegean Sea such as
Lesbos and
Chios) to return back to the city, but Galata was no longer run by a Genoese Podestà. Venice, Genoa's archrival, did not miss the opportunity to regain control in the strategic citadel of Galata (Pera), which they were forced to leave in 1261 when the Byzantines retook Constantinople and brought an end to the
Latin Empire (1204-1261) that was established by
Enrico Dandolo, the
Doge of
Venice. The
Republic of Venice immediately established political and commercial ties with the Ottoman Empire, and a Venetian
Baylo (Bailiff) was sent to Pera as a political and commercial ambassador, similar to the role of the Genoese Podestà during the Byzantine period. The Venetians sent
Gentile Bellini to Constantinople, who crafted the famous portrait of Sultan
Mehmed II, which is found today in the National Portrait Gallery of London. It was also the Venetians who suggested
Leonardo da Vinci to
Bayezid II when the Sultan mentioned his intention to construct a bridge over the
Golden Horn, and Leonardo designed his
Galata Bridge in 1502, the sketches and drawings of which are located today in the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia of Milan.
The Baylo's seat was the Venetian Palace, currently the Italian Consulate (and formerly the Italian Embassy until 1923, when
Ankara became the new Turkish capital). The Turkish name of Pera, ''
Beyoğlu'', comes from the Turkicized form of ''
Baylo'', whose palace was the most grandiose structure in this quarter. The name originates from ''Bey Oğlu'' (literally ''Son of Governor'') and was particularly used by the Turks to describe Luigi Giritti, son of Andrea Giritti, the Venetian Baylo during the reign of
Suleiman the Magnificent.
[18] Luigi Giritti's mansion was located close to the present-day
Taksim Square. The Ottoman Empire had an interesting relationship with the Republic of Venice. Even though the two states often went to war over the control of East Mediterranean territories and islands, they were keen on restoring their trade pacts once the wars were over, such as the renewed trade pacts of 1479, 1503, 1522, 1540 and 1575 following major sea wars between the two sides. The Venetians were also the first Europeans to taste Ottoman delicacies such as
coffee, centuries before other Europeans saw coffee beans for the first time in their lives during the
Battle of Vienna in 1683. These encounters can be described as the beginning of today's rich "coffee culture" in both Venice (and later the rest of Italy) and Vienna.
There were more than 40,000 Catholic Italians in Istanbul at the turn of the 20th century, a figure which not only included the descendants of the local Genoese and Venetian merchants who lived here since the Byzantine and early Ottoman periods, but also the numerous Italian workers and artisans who came to the city from Italy during the 19th century.
Giuseppe Garibaldi and
Giuseppe Mazzini came to Constantinople in 1832, and again in 1833. Garibaldi lived in
Beyoğlu and taught Italian, French and Mathematics in the foreign schools of this district. Garibaldi also established the ''Società Operaia Italiana di Mutuo Soccorso'' on May 17, 1863, in Beyoğlu, and became its first President (
Mazzini was the second President).
[19] The ''Società Operaia Italiana di Mutuo Soccorso'' is still active and is located in its original site, on a side street of
İstiklal Avenue. The number of Istanbul's Italians decreased after the end of the Ottoman Empire for several reasons. The Turkish Republic no longer recognized the trade privileges that were given to the descendants of the Genoese and Venetian merchants, and foreigners were no longer allowed to work in Turkey in a wide number of sectors, including many artisanships, in which numerous Istanbulite Italians used to work. The ''
Varlık Vergisi'' (Wealth Tax) of the
World War II years, which imposed higher tariffs on non-Muslims and foreigners in Turkey, also played an important role in the migration of Istanbul's Italians to Italy - who still live in the city, but in far fewer numbers when compared with the early 20th century. The influence of the Italian community of Istanbul, however, is still visible in the architecture of many quarters, particularly
Galata,
Beyoğlu and
Nişantaşı.
Crime
The overwhelming majority of crime is non-violent in nature. There are remarkably few assaults or robberies in which guns or knives are used.
[20] Pickpockets work in tourist areas, particularly around
Taksim Square.
In November 2003
al Qaida-affiliated suicide bombers blew up the British Consulate, the
HSBC Bank, and two synagogues, killing dozens and wounding hundreds of people. These incidents represent a significant change from prior attacks in Turkey and show an increased willingness on the part of terrorists to attack Western targets.
[21] While the threat of terrorism remains high in Istanbul as in most Western cities, the most significant threat to safety comes from vehicular accidents.
[22]
Economy
Historically, Istanbul has been the center of the country's economic life because of its location as an international junction of
land and
sea trade routes. In
2005 the City of Istanbul had a
GDP of $133 billion, outranking many prominent cities in the world including
Singapore,
Mumbai,
Rome,
Montreal,
Milan,
Beijing,
Cairo,
Jakarta,
Vienna,
Delhi,
Bangkok,
Tehran,
St. Petersburg,
Johannesburg,
Stockholm,
Cape Town,
Berlin,
Athens,
Birmingham,
Manchester,
Hamburg,
Turin,
Lyon,
Munich,
Warsaw,
Naples,
Ankara,
Amsterdam,
Rotterdam,
Brussels and many others, according to a research conducted by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
[23][24][25]
In
2005 companies based in Istanbul made
exports worth $41,397,000,000 and
imports worth $69,883,000,000; which corresponded to 56.6% and 60.2% of Turkey's exports and imports, respectively, in that year.
[26] In
2006 Turkey's exports grew a further +16.1% while imports grew +17.6% because of a rising demand of energy resources and raw materials by the industrial manufacturers in the country.
[27]
Income distribution is not fairly balanced in Istanbul, such that 20% of the highest income group uses 64% of the resources and 20% of the lowest income group uses 4% of the resources (based on 1994 statistics).
[28] The change in Istanbul's living standards is a direct reflection of the nation's statistics as the 27.5% share of the total consumption in Turkey is performed by the population of Istanbul.
In the late
1990s, the economy of Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, suffered several major depressions. The
Asian financial crisis between
July 1997 and the beginning of
1998, as well as the crisis in
Russia between
August 1998 and the middle of
1999 had negative effects in all areas of the economy, particularly on
exports. Following this setback, a slow reorganization of the economy of Istanbul was observed in 1999.
The major
earthquake which was epicentered in nearby
Kocaeli on
August 17th,
1999, triggered one of the largest economic shocks for the city. Apart from the capital and human losses caused by the disaster, a decrease in GDP of approximately two percent occurred. Despite these downturns, Istanbul's economy has strongly improved and recovered in the recent years.
Financial Sector
Istanbul has always been the "financial capital" of Turkey, even after
Ankara became the new political capital in 1923. The opening of specific markets in the city during the 1980s further strengthened this status. Inaugurated at the beginning of
1986, the
Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) is the sole securities market of Turkey, established to provide trading in equities, right coupons, Government bonds, Treasury bills, revenue sharing certificates, bonds issued by the Privatization Administration and corporate bonds, and to carry out overnight transactions.
[29]
In 1993 the
ISE decided on gold market liberalization, and in
1995 the
Istanbul Gold Exchange was established, which ended the gold bullion imports monopoly of the Turkish Central Bank and transferred it to the private sector members of the gold exchange.
[30]
Levent and
Maslak financial districts are home to the headquarters of Turkey's largest companies and banks, as well as the local headquarters of global giants of the financial sector such as
Citibank,
Merrill Lynch,
J. P. Morgan,
HSBC,
ABN Amro,
Fortis,
ING Bank,
BNP Paribas,
Société Générale,
Banca di Roma,
UniCredit,
WestLB,
Deutsche Bank,
Commerzbank, and many others. Both
Levent and
Maslak have a constantly growing and changing dynamic skyline with several new skyscraper projects being proposed, approved and initiated every year.
Industry
Streets of
Nişantaşı, the fashion district of Istanbul and seat of the Turkish textiles industry
Istanbul is the "industrial center" of Turkey. It employs approximately 20% of Turkey's
industrial labor and contributes 38% of Turkey's industrial workspace. In addition, the city generates 55% of Turkey's trade and 45% of the country's
wholesale trade, and generates 21.2% of Turkey's
gross national product. Istanbul contributes 40% of all taxes collected in Turkey and produces 27.5% of Turkey's national product.
Many of Turkey's major manufacturing plants are located in the city. Istanbul and its surrounding province produce
cotton,
fruit,
olive oil,
silk, and
tobacco. Food processing, textile production, oil products, rubber, metal ware, leather, chemicals, electronics, glass, machinery, paper and paper products, and alcoholic drinks are among the city's major industrial products. The city also has plants that assemble automobiles and trucks.
Pharmaceutical industry started in
1952 with the establishment of "Eczacıbaşı Pharmaceuticals Factory" in Levent, Istanbul.
[31] Today, 134 companies operate in the Turkish pharmaceutical industry, a significant part of which is based within or near Istanbul.
[32]
Tourism
View of
Taksim and
Levent from The Marmara Hotel, with the "Conference Valley" in the center of the frame
Istanbul is one of the most important tourism spots of Turkey. There are thousands of
hotels and other tourist oriented industries in the city, catering to both
vacationers and visiting professionals. In
2006 a total of 23,148,669 tourists visited Turkey, most of whom entered the country through the airports and seaports of Istanbul and
Antalya.
[33] The total number of tourists who entered Turkey through
Atatürk International Airport and
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul reached 5,346,658, rising from 4,849,353 in 2005.
[34]
Istanbul is also one of the world’s most exciting conference destinations and is an increasingly popular choice for the world’s leading international associations.
[35] Istanbul’s conference appeal developed with three separate conference and exhibition areas: The Conference Valley (Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Center, Istanbul Hilton Convention & Exhibition Center, the Military Museum Cultural Center and the
Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall); The Airport & Exhibition District (150,000 m2 (1.6 m sq ft) of exhibition space around the CNR International Expo Center); and the Business & Financial District (with many distributed centers). These cluster areas feature a combination of accommodations, meeting facilities, and exhibition space. They can be used individually, or collectively through transportation with the Istanbul metro, and are linked together for accommodating events with 10,000 or more participants.
Infrastructure
Health and medicine
:''See also:
Hospitals''
The city has many public and private hospitals, clinics and laboratories within its bounds and numerous medical research centers. Many of these facilities have high technology equipment, which has contributed to the recent upsurge in "medical tourism" to Istanbul,
[36] particularly from West European countries like the
United Kingdom and
Germany where governments send patients with lower income to the city for the relatively inexpensive service of high-tech medical treatment and operations.
[37] Istanbul has particularly become a global destination for laser eye surgery and plastic surgery.
[38][39][40] The city also has an Army Veterans Hospital in the military medical center.
Pollution-related health problems increase especially in the winter, when the combustion of heating fuels increase. The rising number of new cars in the city and the slow development of public transportation often cause urban smog conditions. Mandatory use of unleaded gas was scheduled to begin only in January 2006.
[41]
Nevertheless, air and water pollution created by the numerous factories, motor vehicles and private households as well as noise pollution generated by the immense traffic continue to concern the population of Istanbul. Diseases such as bronchitis and asthma are far more common among the inhabitants of the city's
gecekondu areas largely because of the proximity of these poorer, densely populated areas to industry.
Utilities
The first water supply systems which were built in Istanbul date back to the foundation of the city. Two of the greatest
aqueducts built in the Roman period are the Mazulkemer Aqueduct and the
Valens Aqueduct. These aqueducts were built in order to channel water from the Halkalı area in the western edge of the city to the Beyazıt district in the city center, which was known as the ''Forum Tauri'' in the Roman period.
[42] After reaching the city center, the water was later collected in the city's numerous
cisterns, such as the famous Philoxenos (Binbirdirek) Cistern and the
Basilica (Yerebatan) Cistern. Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned
Sinan, his engineer and architect-in-chief, to improve the water needs of the city. Sinan constructed the Kırkçeşme Water Supply System in
1555.
[42] In later years, with the aim of responding to the ever-increasing public demand, water from various springs was channeled to the public fountains by means of small supply lines; see
German Fountain.
Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage disposal system managed by the government agency
ISKI.
[44] The current level of facilities are not sufficient enough to meet the rising demand of the growing city. Water supply sometimes becomes a problem, particularly in the summer. Most of the hotels and residential districts have their own water supply tanks, which act as a buffer during such temporary shortages. There are also several private sector organizations distributing clean water. Electricity distribution services are covered by the state-owned TEK. The first electricity production plant in the city, ''Silahtarağa Termik Santrali'', was established in
1914 and continued to supply electricity until
1983.
[45]
The Ottoman Ministry of Post and Telegraph was established in the city on October 23,
1840.
[46] The first post office was the ''Postahane-i Amire'' near the courtyard of
Yeni Mosque.
[46] In
1876 the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast
Ottoman Empire -- which, in that year, stretched from the borders with
Austria-Hungary and
Russia at north to the Ottoman provinces of
Yemen and
Sudan at south and
Tunisia at west -- was established.
[46] In
1901 the first money transfers were made through the post offices and the first cargo services became operational.
[46]
Samuel Morse received his first ever patent for the
telegraph in
1847, at the old Beylerbeyi Palace (the present
Beylerbeyi Palace was built in 1861-1865 on the same location) in Istanbul, which was issued by Sultan
Abdülmecid who personally tested the new invention.
[50] Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line between Istanbul and
Edirne began on August 9,
1847.
[51] In
1855 the Telegraph Administration was established.
[46] In July
1881 the first
telephone circuit in Istanbul was established between the Ministry of Post and Telegraph in Soğukçeşme and the Postahane-i Amire in Yenicami.
[51] On May 23,
1909, the first manual telephone exchange with a 50 line capacity was established in the ''Büyük Postane'' (Grand Post Office) of Sirkeci.
[51] The first automatic
telex exchange was established in November
1973.
[51] Electronic Mail was put into service between Istanbul,
Ankara,
İzmir and
Adana on June 28,
1984.
[51] In November
1985 the first
radio link system was put into service between Istanbul and Ankara.
[51] On October 23,
1986,
mobile telephone and
paging systems were put into service in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. On March 4,
1987, the first ever
video conference in Europe was realized in Istanbul.
[51] On February 23,
1994,
GSM technology was established in the city.
[51] A nationwide
Internet network and connection with the
World Wide Web was established in
1996.
[51]
Infrastructure improvements since the mid 1990s include the resolution of the garbage problem, improved traffic conditions and improved air quality as a result of the increased use of natural gas.
Transportation
Main articles: Public transport in Istanbul
İstanbul rail transit map
Istanbul has two international airports: The larger one is the
Atatürk International Airport located in the
Yeşilköy district on the European side, about 24 kilometers west from the city center. When it was first built, the airport used to be at the western edge of the metropolitan area but now lies within the city bounds.
The smaller one is the
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport located in the Kurtköy district on the Asian side, close to the
Istanbul Park GP Racing Circuit. It is situated approximately 20 kilometers east of the Asian side and 45 kilometers east of the European city center.
The
Sirkeci Terminal of the
Turkish State Railways (TCDD) is the terminus of all the lines on the European side and the main connection node of the Turkish railway network with the rest of Europe. Currently, international connections are provided by the line running between Istanbul and
Thessaloniki,
Greece, and the ''Bosphorus Express'' serving daily between Sirkeci and
Gara de Nord in
Bucharest,
Romania. Lines to
Sofia,
Belgrade,
Budapest, and
Chişinău are established over the ''Bosphorus Express'' connection to Bucharest. Sirkeci Terminal was originally opened as the terminus of the
Orient Express.
Beyond the Bosphorus, the
Haydarpaşa Terminal on the Asian side serves lines running several times daily to
Ankara, and less frequently to other destinations in
Anatolia. The railway networks on the European and Asian sides are currently connected by the
train ferry across the Bosphorus, which will be replaced by an underwater tunnel connection with the completion of the
Marmaray project, scheduled for 2009. Marmaray (Bosphorus Rail Tunnel) will also connect the
metro lines on the European and Asian parts of the city. Haydarpaşa Terminal was originally opened as the terminus of the
Istanbul-Baghdad and
Istanbul-Damascus-Medina railways.
The ''E5'', ''E90'' and ''Trans European Motorway'' (TEM) are the three main motorway connections between Europe and Turkey. The motorway network around Istanbul is well developed and is constantly being extended. Motorways lead east to
Ankara and west to
Edirne. There are also 2 express highways circling the city. The older one, the E5, is mostly used for inner city traffic while the more recent one, the TEM highway, is mostly used by intercity or intercontinental traffic. The
Bosphorus Bridge on E5 and the
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on TEM establish the motorway connection between the European and the Asian sides of the Bosphorus.
Istanbul's famous commuter ferries
Sea transport is vital for Istanbul, as the city is practically surrounded by sea on all sides: the
Sea of Marmara, the
Golden Horn, the
Bosphorus and the
Black Sea. Many Istanbulites live on the Asian side of the city but work on the European side (or vice-versa) and the city's famous commuter ferries form the backbone of the daily transition between the two parts of the city - even more so than the two suspension bridges which span the Bosphorus. The commuter ferries, along with the high speed catamaran ''Seabus'' (''Deniz Otobüsü''), also form the main connection between the city and the
Princes' Islands. The first steam ferries appeared on the Bosphorus in
1837 and were operated by private sector companies. On January 1,
1851, the ''Şirket-i Hayriye'' (literally ''The Goodwill Company'', as the Istanbul Ferry Company was originally called) was established by the
Ottoman state. The ''Şirket-i Hayriye'' continued to operate the city's landmark commuter ferries until the early years of the
Republican period; when they went under the direction of ''Türkiye Denizcilik İşletmeleri'' (''Turkish State Maritime Lines''). Since March
2006, Istanbul's traditional commuter ferries are being operated by ''İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri'' (''Istanbul Sea Buses'') which also operates the high speed catamaran ''Seabus''.
The current design of the Istanbul ferries, as we know them today, was largely created by the Fairfield Shipbuilders of Glasgow, Scotland, which also built the largest amount of Istanbul ferries since 1851. The companies which designed and built the traditional commuter ferries of Istanbul include the White Shipbuilders of East Cowes, England (models of 1854-1860); the M. Wigram Shipbuilders of London, England (models of 1863-1869); Maudslay & Sons of London, England (models of 1870-1872); R. & H. Green Shipbuilders of London, England (models of 1872-1890 and 1894-1896); J. W. Thames of London, England (models of 1890-1893); Napier, Shanks & Bell of Glasgow, Scotland (models of 1893-1894); Fairfield Shipbuilders of Glasgow, Scotland (models of 1903-1906, 1910-1911, 1914-1929, and 1938-1962); Armstrong Shipbuilders in Newcastle and Glasgow, United Kingdom (models of 1905-1907); Atl. & Chantier de France in Dunkerque, France (models of 1907-1911); Hawthorn, Leslie & Co. in Newcastle, England (models of 1911); Kinderdijk L. Smith & Zoon Ltd, Holland (models of 1951); Cantieri Navali di Taranto SPA, Taranto, Italy (models of 1952); and Hasköy, Camialtı, and İstinye Shipyards in Istanbul, Turkey (models of 1929-1938 and 1962-1989).
İDO (''İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri'' - ''Istanbul Sea Buses'') was established in
1987 and operates the high speed catamaran ''Seabus'' which run between the European and Asian parts of Istanbul, also connecting the city with the
Princes' Islands and other destinations in the
Sea of Marmara. The ''Seabus'' are built by Kvaerner Fjellstrand of Norway and Austal Ships Pty. of Australia. The ''Yenikapı High Speed Car Ferry Port'' on the European side, and the ''Pendik High Speed Car Ferry Port'' on the Asian side, are where the high speed catamaran "car ferries" are based. These are larger than the other Seabus, and were likewise built by Austal Shipyards Pty. of Australia and Kvaerner Fjellstrand of Norway. The car ferries which operate between Yenikapı (on the European side of Istanbul) and
Bandırma reduce the driving time between Istanbul and
İzmir and other major destinations on Turkey's
Aegean coast by several hours; while those which operate between Yenikapı or
Pendik (on the Asian side of Istanbul) and
Yalova reduce the driving time between Istanbul and
Bursa or
Antalya by several hours.
The port of Istanbul is the most important one in the country. The old port on the
Golden Horn serves primarily for personal navigation, while
Karaköy port in
Galata is used by the large
cruise liners.
Istanbul Modern, the city's largest museum and gallery of modern arts, is located close to Karaköy port. Regular services as well as cruises from both Karaköy and
Eminönü exist to several ports such as
Pireaus (
Greece) and the Greek islands,
Dubrovnik (
Croatia),
Venice,
Naples (
Italy),
Marseille (
France), and
Haifa (
Israel) in the
Mediterranean Sea, and also
Odessa (
Ukraine) in the
Black Sea.
Istanbul also has several marinas of varying size for harboring private yachts, the largest of which are the Ataköy Marina on the European side and Kalamış Marina on the Asian side.
Istanbul's main cargo port, on the other hand, is located in the Harem district, within the borough of
Üsküdar, on the Asian side of the city. Istanbul accounted for 56.6% of Turkey's exports and 60.2% of Turkey's imports in 2005, and much of these exports and imports were made through the main cargo port in Harem.
[26]
Life in the city
Cultural activity, tourism and commerce are expected to remain important in the life of the city. However, major challenges loom ahead, such as demographic growth, traffic congestion, disorganized housing construction, the restoration of historic buildings and the planning of a 3rd motorway transition through the Bosphorus. Daily life in Istanbul is colorful and vibrant and continues to bustle side by side with many carefully protected Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman monuments. Istanbul is often considered the capital of Turkey in terms of commerce, entertainment, culture, education, shopping, tourism and art. More than half of the population lives and works on the European side. The large number of people living in the residential areas on the Anatolian side use bridges and ferries to commute to work in a city that has been one of the most popular destinations for voyagers throughout history.
Art & Culture
Istanbul is becoming increasingly colorful in terms of its rich social, cultural, and commercial activities. While world famous pop stars fill stadiums, activities like opera, ballet and theater continue throughout the year. During seasonal festivals, world famous orchestras, chorale ensembles, concerts and jazz legends can be found often playing to a full house. The
Istanbul International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in Europe, while the
Istanbul Biennial is another major event of fine arts.
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