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Istanbul

Welcome to the Istanbul Website of pictures within the World from the Web Home page. Located in northwestern Turkey, Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, is the only city in the world that sits astride two continents—Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the country’s chief commercial and cultural center. It has a fine natural harbor and is an important trade hub.

In 2000 Census, population is 8,803,468 (city proper) and 10,018,735 (province), making it one of the largest cities in Europe. By July 2005, the population has increased to 11,322,000 for the province. The city's size is 594 square miles and the province is 2015 square miles. The city is the capital of Istanbul Province, which is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the south and southwest by the Sea of Marmara, on the east by Kocaeli Province, and on the west by Tekirdag Province. The Bosporous, a narrow strait that links the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, separates Istanbul’s European and Asian sections. Known as the "City on Seven Hills" because the historic peninsula which is the oldest portion was built on seven hills, also represented with seven mosques, one at the top of each hill. The city throughout times had many names, depending on the background of people such as language and religion. Byzantium, Constantinople and Stamboul were examples, which some are currently in active use, as depending on the culture.

Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey was the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1923. Originally known as Byzantium, it was settled by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC. 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. The location of Byzantium attracted Constantine the Great and in 330 he refounded it as Nova Roma, or Constantinoupolis after himself. The Eastern Roman Empire which had its capital in Constantinople from then until the conquest of the empire in 1453, has often been called the Byzantine Empire. The combination of imperialism and location would play an important role as the crossing point between the two continents, and later a magnet for Africa and others as well. Not only controlling the route between Asia and Europe, but also the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. It was captured and sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and then re-captured by Nicaean forces under the command of Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261. This empire was distinctly Greek in culture, and became the centre of Greek Orthodox Christianity after an earlier split with Rome. It was adorned with many magnificent churches, including Hagia Sophia, once the world's largest cathedral. After the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, in 1453, Constantinople became part of the Ottoman Empire and soon, its capital. During the Ottoman period the city went through a complete cultural change from an imperial Byzantine city to an Ottoman Imperial one. Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque as were several other churches in the city. Other mosques were constructed around the city, each Sultan having built a grand mosque to commemorate his reign. Amongst these mosques, the most impressive are the Beyazit Mosque, Suleymaniye (The largest mosque in Istanbul), Sultan Ahmed Mosque and Fatih Mosque. When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved from Istanbul to Ankara. Until that time, except for the Crusader invasion between 1204-1261, Istanbul had continously been an imperial capital for 1610 years. (313 - 1923). In the early years of the republic, Istanbul was overlooked in favor of the new capital Ankara but, during the 1950s and 1960s, Istanbul underwent great structural change. 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. In the 1950s the government of Adnan Menderes sought to develop the country as a whole and new roads and factories were constructed throughout the country. Wide modern roads were built in Istanbul. During the 1970s the population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories on the outskirts of the city. This resulted in hastily constructed housing development, resulting in great death and injury during the frequent earthquakes that hit the city. Istanbul also absorbed much of the surrounding area.

Besides being a capital to three empires, Istanbul is one of the very few cities which is able to maintain its quality of being an economical center. It has kept its economically central position and determines this portion of the fate of the country. The population of Istanbul, which was 1 million people in 1945, became over 7 million in 1990. Looking at the economy and business life of the city, the share of Istanbul in the Turkey’s gross national product is almost a quater. The headquarters of all private banks in Turkey are located in Istanbul. Istanbul has a central importance in both domestic and international trade. Istanbul is at the same time the most important export and import gate of Turkey. Istanbul is the center of tourism and a congress. Istanbul is also the center of country’s air transport. Along with Atatürk Airport, Pendik Sabiha Gökçen airport on the Anatolian side serves Istanbul. 14 museums are located in Istanbul.

Quarters of Istanbul are divided into three ranges. The old city centre Istanbul with the quarters Eminönü and Fatih are located in the south of the European side. They are separated by the Golden Horn from the northern part and by the Theodosian wall from the western and newer parts. North of the Golden Horn are the historical Beyoglu and Besiktas, where the last Sultans palace is. This was followed by a chain of former villages such as Ortaköy and Bebek along the bank of the Bosphorus. Here and on the opposite side of Boshphorus, wealthy Istanbulers established luxurious wooden mansions which are called Yalis. Many served as summer homes. The quarters Üsküdar and Kadiköy which are opposite on the Asiatic side were originally independent cities. Today they are residental and business districts; they are home to approximately a third of the Istanbul's population. Elevated office and residential areas are located particularly in the north on the hills above the second Bosphorus bridge above Bebek in the quarters of Levent, Etiler and Maslak. Due to Istanbul's exponential growth during the second half of 20th century, a significant portion of the city consists of "Gecekondus", a Turkish word created in the 1940s meaning "built overnight" and refers to the illegally constructed squatter buildings that comprise entire neighborhoods and run rampant in Turkey’s larger cities, especially Istanbul.

Istanbul has hot and humid summers with cold, rainy and often snowy winters. Yearly precipitation for Istanbul averages 870 mm (34"). The summer months of June through September bring average daytime temperatures of 28 °C (82 °F). The weather becomes slightly cooler as one moves toward eastern Istanbul. January is coldest with 5.4 degrees Celsius (42F) on the average. Snowfall is common and can occasionally be heavy.

All pictures on this page are from Istanbul, using various film and digital cameras. The pictures below on this page are all from various parts of the city. Subsequent pages found directly below will continue the tour of the country.