Istanbul
What is now called Asian Istanbul
was probably inhabited by people as early as 3000 BC. Eventually,
in the 7th century, Greek colonists led by King Byzas established
the colony of Byzantium, the Greek name for a city on the Bosphorus.
Byzas chose the spot after consulting an oracle of Delphi who told
him to settle across from the "land of the blind ones."
Indeed, Byzas concluded, earlier settlers must have been deprived
of their sight to have overlooked this superb location at the mouth
of the Bosphorus strait. This proved an auspicious decision by Byzas,
as history has shown Istanbul's location important far beyond what
these early Greek settlers might possibly have conceived. Byzas
gave his name to the city: Byzantium.
In the early 100's BC, it became part
of the Roman Empire and in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great
made Byzantium capital of the entire Roman Empire. From that point
on, the city was known as Constantinople.
The mid 400's AD was a time of enormous
upheaval in the empire. Barbarians conquered the western Roman Empire
while the Eastern, also called the Byzantine Empire, kept Constantinople
as its capital. In 532 during the reign of Justinian I, antigovernment
riots destroyed the city. It was rebuilt, and outstanding structures
such as Hagia Sophia stand as monuments to the heights Byzantine
culture reached.
The attribute that made the city so
desirable, its incomparable location for trade and transport between
three continents, was also its nemesis. For the next several hundred
years Persians, Arabs, nomadic peoples, and members of the Fourth
Crusade (who for a time governed the city) attacked Constantinople.
Finally, weakened by almost constant
battle, the Ottoman Turks lead by Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople
in 1453. Renamed Istanbul, it became the third and last capital
of the Ottoman Empire. It was the nerve center for military campaigns
that were to enlarge the Ottoman Empire dramatically. By the mid
1500's, Istanbul, with a population of almost half a million, was
a major cultural, political, and commercial center. Ottoman rule
continued until it was defeated in WWI and Istanbul was occupied
by the allies.
When the Republic of Turkey was born
in 1923 after the War of Independence, Kemal Ataturk moved the capital
to the city of Ankara. But Istanbul has continued to expand dramatically;
today its population is approximately twelve million and increases
at an estimated 700,000 immigrants per year. Industry has expanded
even as tourism has grown. It continues to be a city that creates
its own history.
There are many interesting museums,
castles, palaces, mosques and churches. Some of the interesting
districts of the city are: Haydarpasa, Uskudar, Eyup, Galata, Perapalas,
Ortaköy, Bosphorus, Taksim, Eminönü and Sultanahmet.
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