Istanbul: Difference between revisions

Historic Areas of Istanbul
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: I, II, III, IV
Reference	356
Inscription	1985 (9th Session)

Istanbul
Istanbul
City
	An aerial view of Galata (foreground) and the Seraglio Point (background) at the eastern tip of the historic peninsula of Istanbul. The Princes' Islands are seen on the horizon, at left.
Country	Turkey
Region	Marmara
Province	Istanbul
- Byzantium	c. 660 BCE
- Constantinople	330 CE
- Istanbul	1453 (Ottoman Turkish); 1923 (Modern Turkish); 1930 (internationally)
Districts	39
Government
• Mayor	Kadir Topbaş (AKP)
Area
• Metro	5,343 km2 (2,063 sq mi)
Population (2000–10 city proper, 2010–12 metro area)
• City	8,803,468
• Metro	13,255,685
• Metro density	2,481/km2 (6,430/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	34000 to 34850
Area code(s)	(+90) 212 (European side) ; (+90) 216 (Asian side)
Website	Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

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Istanbul (historically Byzantium and Constantinople),^[3] is the largest city of Turkey, home to a population of 8,803,468 in 2001. A megacity, it is the nation's cultural, economic, and financial center, ranked as an alpha(-) world city by GaWC in 2010.^[4]

Located in the northwest of the country, it lies on the Bosphorus strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn. Extending both on the European (Thrace) and Asian (Anatolia) sides of the strait, Istanbul is the only city in the world situated on two continents. It covers 39 districts of Istanbul province.^[5] The greater Istanbul metropolitan area held 18% of Turkey's population in 2010. Its 13.26 million residents^[2] rank it third in Europe after those of London and Moscow.

During its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital of the Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). When the new Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923 Ankara was chosen as its capital.

Istanbul's historic areas were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.^[6] It was named a joint European Capital of Culture for 2010 and the European Capital of Sports for 2012.^[7] Istanbul is currently bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[8]

Toponymy

A marble bust of an expressionless man with his eyes wide open staring blankly upward — Constantine I was the source of the long-standing name *Constantinople*, which means the "City of Constantine."

Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Byzántion) is the first known name of the city. Around 660 BC,^{[note 1]} Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded a Doric colony on the present-day Istanbul, and named the new colony after their king, Byzas.^[14] After Constantine I (Constantine the Great) made the city the new eastern capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD, the city became widely known as Constantinopolis or Constantinople, which, as the Latinised form of "Κωνσταντινούπολις" (Kōnstantinoúpolis), means the "City of Constantine".^[15] He also attempted to promote the name Nea Roma ("New Rome"), but this never caught on.^[16] Constantinople remained the official name of the city throughout the Byzantine period, and the most common name used for it in the West until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.

By the 19th century, the city had acquired a number of names used by either foreigners or Turks. Europeans^[17]^[18] used Constantinople to refer to the whole of the city, while using the name Stamboul – as the Turks also did – to describe the walled peninsula between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. Pera was used to describe the area between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, but Turks also used the name Beyoğlu, which is still in use today.^[19] However, with the Turkish Postal Service Law of 28 March 1930, the Turkish authorities formally requested foreigners to adopt İstanbul, a name in existence since the 10th century,^[20] as the sole name of the city within their own languages.^[21]

Etymologically, the name "İstanbul" (Turkish pronunciation: [isˈtanbuɫ], colloquially [ɯsˈtambuɫ]) derives from the Medieval Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" [is tin ˈpolin]/[istimbolin] or, in the Aegean dialect, "εἰς τὰν Πόλιν" [is tan ˈpolin] (Greek: εις την πολιν, Modern Greek "στην Πόλη" [stimboli]), which means "in the city" or "to the city".^[15]^[20]^[22] In modern Turkish, the name is written "İstanbul", with a dotted İ, as the Turkish alphabet distinguishes between a dotted and dotless I. Also, while in English the stress is on the first syllable ("Is"), in Turkish it is on the second syllable ("tan"). Following Rome, Istanbul has been called "The City of Seven Hills" because the oldest part of the city is supposedly built on seven hills, each of which bears a historic mosque.^[23]

History

First settlements

Recent construction of the Marmaray tunnel unearthed a Neolithic settlement underneath Yenikapı on Istanbul's peninsula. Dating back to the 7th millennium BC, before the Bosphorus was even formed, the discovery indicated that the peninsula was settled thousands of years earlier than previously thought.^[24] Thracian tribes established two settlements—Lygos and Semistra—on the Seraglio Point, near where Topkapı Palace now stands, between the 13th and 11th centuries BC. On the Asian side, artifacts have been found in Fikirtepe (present-day Kadıköy) that date back to the Chalcolithic period.^[25] The same location was the site of a Phoenician trading post at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC as well as the town of Chalcedon, which was established by Greek settlers from Megara in 685 BCE.^[12]

However, the history of Istanbul generally begins around 660 BCE,^{[note 1]} when the settlers from Megara, under the command of King Byzas, established Byzantion (Latinised as Byzantium) on the European side of the Bosphorus. By the end of the century, an acropolis was established at the former locations of Lygos and Semistra, on the Seraglio Point.^[14] The city experienced a brief period of Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century BC, but the Greeks recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars.^[26] Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and its successor, the Second Athenian Empire, before ultimately gaining independence in 355 BCE.^[27] Long protected by the Roman Republic, Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in AD 73.

Byzantium's decision to side with the usurper Pescennius Niger against Roman Emperor Septimius Severus cost it dearly; by the time it surrendered at the end of 195, two years of siege had left the city devastated.^[28] Still, five years later, Severus began to rebuild Byzantium, and the city regained—and, by some accounts, surpassed—its previous prosperity.^[29]

Byzantine era

When Constantine I defeated Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis in September 324, he effectively became the emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire.^[30] Just two months later, Constantine laid out the plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. Intended to replace Nicomedia as the eastern capital of the empire, the city was named Nea Roma (New Rome); however, most simply called it Constantinople ("the city of Constantine"), a name that persisted into the 20th century.^[31] Six years later, on 11 May 330, Constantinople was proclaimed the capital of an empire that eventually became known as the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire.^[32]

The establishment of Constantinople served as one of Constantine's most lasting accomplishments, shifting Roman power eastward and becoming a center of Greek culture and Christianity.^[32]^[33] Numerous churches were built across the city, including the Hagia Sofia, which remained the world's largest cathedral for a thousand years.^[34] The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople developed in the city, and its leader is still one of the foremost figures in the Greek Orthodox Church. Constantinople's location also ensured its existence would stand the test of time; for many centuries, its walls and seafront protected Europe against invaders from the east as well as from the advance of Islam.^[33] During most of the Middle Ages and the latter part of the Byzantine period, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city on the European continent, and during parts of this period the largest in the world.^[35]

Constantinople began to decline after the Fourth Crusade, during which it was sacked and pillaged.^[37] The city subsequently became the center of the Latin Empire, created by Catholic crusaders to replace the Orthodox Byzantine Empire, which was divided into splinter states.^[38] However, the Latin Empire was short-lived, and the Byzantine Empire was restored, weakened, in 1261.^[39] Constantinople's churches, defenses, and basic services were in disrepair,^[40] and its population had dwindled to forty thousand from nearly half a million during the 9th century.^[41]^[42]

Various economic and military policies instituted by Andronikos II, such as the reduction of forces, weakened the empire and left it more vulnerable to attack.^[43] In the mid-14th century, the Ottoman Turks began a strategy by which they took smaller towns and cities over time, cutting off Constantinople's supply routes and strangling it slowly.^[44] Finally, on 29 May 1453, after an eight-week siege (during which the last Roman Emperor, Constantine XI, was killed), Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" captured Constantinople and declared it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.^[45]^[46] Hours later, the sultan rode to the Hagia Sofia and summoned an imam to proclaim the Islamic creed, converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque.^[47]

Ottoman and Turkish era

The Ottoman sultans ruled from the Topkapı Palace for centuries.

Following the fall of Constantinople, Mehmed II immediately set out to revitalize the city, now also known as Istanbul. First he deported all the Christian population of the City, leaving only the Jewish inhabitants of Balat^[48] then he invited and forcibly resettled many Muslims, Jews, and Christians from other parts of Anatolia and Rumelia into the city,^[49] creating a cosmopolitan society that persisted through much of the Ottoman period.^[50] By the end of the century, Istanbul had returned to a population of two hundred thousand, making it the second-largest city in Europe.^[51] Meanwhile, Mehmed II repaired the city's damaged infrastructure and began to build the Grand Bazaar. Also constructed during this period was Topkapı Palace, which served as the official residence of the sultan for four hundred years.^[52]

The Ottomans quickly transformed Constantinople from a bastion of Christianity to a symbol of Islamic culture. Religious foundations were established to fund the construction of grand imperial mosques, often adjoined by schools, hospitals, and public baths.^[52] Suleiman the Magnificent's reign from 1520 to 1566 was a period of especially great artistic and architectural achievements; chief architect Mimar Sinan designed the Süleymaniye Mosque and other grand buildings in the city, while Ottoman arts of ceramics, calligraphy and miniature flourished.^[53] The total population of Constantinople amounted to 570,000 by the end of the 18th century.^[54]

A period of rebellion at the start of the 19th century led to the rise of the progressive Sultan Mahmud II and eventually the Tanzimat period, which produced reforms that aligned the empire along Western European standards.^[55]^[56] Bridges across the Golden Horn were constructed during this period,^[57] and Istanbul was connected to the rest of the European railway network in the 1880s.^[58] The Tünel, one of the world's oldest subterranean urban rail lines, opened in 1875;^[59] other modern facilities, such a stable water network, electricity, telephones, and trams, were gradually introduced to Istanbul over the following decades, although later than to other European cities.^[60]

The last Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, departing from the backdoor of the Dolmabahçe Palace a year before the declaration of the Republic of Turkey.

Still, the modernization efforts were not enough to forestall the decline of the Ottoman regime. The early 20th century saw the Young Turk Revolution, which disposed of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and a series of wars that plagued the ailing empire's capital.^[61] The last of these, World War I, resulted in the British, French, and Italian occupation of Istanbul. The final Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, was exiled in November 1922; the following year, the occupation of Istanbul ended with the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne and the recognition of the Republic of Turkey, which was declared by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on 29 October 1923.^[62]

In the early years of the republic, Istanbul was overlooked in favor of the country's new capital, Ankara. However, starting from the late 1940s and early 1950s, Istanbul underwent great structural change, as new public squares (such as Taksim Square), boulevards, and avenues were constructed throughout the city, sometimes at the expense of historical buildings.^[63] In 1955, the Istanbul Pogrom targeted the city's ethnic Greek community. The pogrom greatly accelerated the emigration of the city's ethnic Greeks to Greece.^[64] The population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase in the 1970s, as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories that were built on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis. This sudden, sharp rise in the city's population caused a large demand for housing development, and many previously outlying villages and forests became engulfed into the greater metropolitan area of Istanbul.^[65]

Geography

Istanbul is located in northwestern Turkey within the Marmara Region on a total area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi).^{[note 2]} The Bosphorus, which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, divides the city into a European side, comprising the historic and economic centers, and an Asian, Anatolian side; as such, Istanbul is one of the two bi-continental cities in Turkey, along with Çanakkale. The city is further divided by the Golden Horn, a natural harbor bounding the peninsula where the former Byzantium and Constantinople were founded. In the late-19th century, a wharf was constructed in Galata at the mouth of the Golden Horn, replacing a sandy beach that once formed part of the inlet's coastline.^[70] The confluence of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn at the heart of present-day Istanbul has deterred attacking forces for thousands of years and still remains a prominent feature of the city's landscape.

A high concentration of fault lines in northwestern Turkey, where the Eurasian and African plates meet; a small number of faults and ridges also appear under the Mediterranean — Faults in western Turkey are concentrated just southwest of Istanbul, under the Sea of Marmara and northern Aegean Sea.

The historic peninsula is said to be built on seven hills, each topped by an imperial mosque, surrounded by 22 kilometers (14 mi) of city walls; the largest of these hills is the site of Topkapı Palace on the Sarayburnu.^[71] Rising from the opposite side of the Golden Horn is another, conical hill, where the modern Beyoğlu district is situated. Because of the topography, buildings were once constructed with the help of terraced retaining walls (some of which are still visible in older parts of the city), and roads in Beyoğlu were laid out in the form of steps.^[70] Üsküdar on the Asian side exhibits similarly hilly characteristics, with the terrain gradually extending down to the Bosphorus coast, but the landscape in Şemsipaşa and Ayazma is more abrupt, akin to a promontory. The highest point in Istanbul is Çamlıca Hill (also on the Asian side), with an altitude of 288 meters (945 ft).^[70]

Istanbul is situated near the North Anatolian Fault on the boundary between the African and Eurasian plates. This fault zone, which runs from northern Anatolia to the Sea of Marmara, has been responsible for several deadly earthquakes throughout the city's history. Among the most devastating of these seismic events was the 1509 earthquake, which caused a tsunami that broke over the walls of the city, destroyed over 100 mosques, and killed more than 10,000 people. More recently, in 1999, an earthquake with its epicenter in nearby İzmit left 17,000 people dead, including 1,000 people in Istanbul's suburbs.^[72] The people of Istanbul remain concerned that an even more catastrophic seismic event may be in Istanbul's near future, as thousands of structures recently built to accommodate the city's rapidly increasing population may not have been constructed properly.^[72] Seismologists say the risk of a 7.6-magnitude earthquake striking Istanbul by 2030 is greater than sixty percent.^[73]^[74]

Climate

Skyscrapers, both near and far, soar above a dense layer of fog that keeps the ground hidden from view. — High humidity means fog, seen here shrouding Levent, frequently forms in the morning.

Istanbul is characterized as having either a humid subtropical climate, according to Köppen climate classification system, or a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, according to the updated Köppen-Geiger classification system.^[75] However, due to its vast size, diverse topography, and maritime location, Istanbul exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates. Northern parts of the city, for example, express characteristics of an oceanic climate.^[75]^[76]

Summer weather in Istanbul is moderately warm, with the temperature in July and August averaging 24 °C (75 °F).^[77] Extreme heat, however, is uncommon, as temperatures rise above 32 °C (90 °F) on only five days per year on average.^[78] Rainfall is also uncommon during the summer, with only four or five rainy days per month. Winters are cold, wet and often snowy, with the temperature in January and February averaging 4 °C (39 °F).^[77] Snowfalls tend to be heavy, but snowcover and temperatures below freezing rarely last more than a few days. Spring and autumn are mild, but often wet and unpredictable; chilly winds from the northwest and warm gusts from the south—sometimes in the same day—have the tendency to cause fluctuations in temperature.^[79]

Istanbul has a persistently high humidity, which can exacerbate the moderate summer heat.^[77] The humidity is especially salient during the morning hours, when humidity generally reaches eighty percent and fog is very common. The city receives fog an average of 228 days each year, with the highest concentration of foggy days being in the winter months, although it usually dissipates by noontime. Thunderstorms are uncommon, occurring just 23 days each year, but they occur most frequently in the summer and early autumn months.^[78] Istanbul has an annual average of 124 days with significant precipitation, which together generate around 844 mm (33 in) of rain. The highest recorded temperature was 40.5 °C (105 °F) on 12 July 2000, and the lowest recorded temperature was −16.1 °C (3 °F) on 9 February 1927.^[80] The highest recorded rainfall in 24 hours was 227 millimetres (8.9 in) on 16 October 1985.^[80] The highest recorded snow cover was 80 centimetres (31 in) in March 1987.^[80]^[81]

Climate data for Istanbul Turkey
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	8.7 (47.7)	9.1 (48.4)	11.2 (52.2)	16.5 (61.7)	21.4 (70.5)	26.0 (78.8)	28.4 (83.1)	28.5 (83.3)	25.0 (77.0)	20.1 (68.2)	15.3 (59.5)	11.1 (52.0)	18.8 (65.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.9 (37.2)	2.8 (37.0)	3.9 (39.0)	7.7 (45.9)	12.0 (53.6)	16.0 (60.8)	18.5 (65.3)	18.7 (65.7)	15.5 (59.9)	12.0 (53.6)	8.5 (47.3)	5.3 (41.5)	10.5 (50.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	98.4 (3.87)	80.2 (3.16)	69.9 (2.75)	45.8 (1.80)	36.1 (1.42)	34.0 (1.34)	38.8 (1.53)	47.8 (1.88)	61.4 (2.42)	96.9 (3.81)	110.7 (4.36)	123.9 (4.88)	843.9 (33.22)
Average precipitation days	17.7	15.3	13.6	10.3	7.8	5.3	3.6	4.0	6.1	10.3	12.9	16.9	123.8
Source: World Meteorological Organization,^[82] Turkish State Meteorological Service,^[83] BBC Weather^[84] and Climatetemp Info.^[85]

Cityscape

Istanbul has thirty-nine districts administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI).^[67] The district of Fatih, which includes the neighborhood and former district of Eminönü, is among the most central of these, residing on the historic peninsula south of the Golden Horn. The district corresponds to what was, until the Ottoman conquest, the whole of the city, across from which stood the Genoese citadel of Galata in the late Byzantine era. Those Genoese fortifications were largely demolished in the 19th century, leaving only the Galata Tower, to make way for northward expansion of the city.^[86] Galata is now a part of the Beyoğlu district, which forms Istanbul's commercial and entertainment center and includes İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square.^[87]

Dolmabahçe Palace, the seat of government during the late Ottoman period, is located in Beşiktaş, just north of Beyoğlu, across from BJK İnönü Stadium, home to Turkey's oldest football club.^[88] The former village of Ortaköy is situated within Beşiktaş and provides its name to the Ortaköy Mosque, along the Bosphorus near the First Bosphorus Bridge. Lining the shores of the Bosphorus north of there are yalıs, luxurious chalet mansions originally built by 19th-century aristocrats and elites as summer homes.^[89] Today, some are homes within the city's most exclusive neighborhoods, including Bebek. Further inland, between the First Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosphorus) Bridge, are Levent, Maslak, and Mecidiyeköy, Istanbul's primary economic centers. Officially part of the Beşiktaş and Şişli districts, they contain Istanbul's tallest buildings^[90] and the headquarters of Turkey's largest companies.

Like Beyoğlu, the districts of Üsküdar and Kadıköy on the Asian side were originally separate cities, Chrysopolis and Chalcedon, respectively.^[12] During the Ottoman period, they continued to remain outside the scope of urban Istanbul, serving as tranquil outposts with seaside yalıs and gardens. However, during the second half of the 20th century, the Asian side experienced massive urban growth, owning in part to the construction of the two Bosphorus Bridges in the 1970s and 1980s.^[91] The fact that these areas were largely empty until the 1960s also provided the chance for developing better infrastructure and tidier urban planning when compared with most other residential areas in the city. While officially part of Istanbul, much of the Asian side of the Bosphorus functions as a suburb of the economic and commercial centers in European Istanbul, accounting for a third of the city's population but only a quarter of its employment.^[91]

As a result of Istanbul's exponential growth during the 20th century, a significant portion of the city's outskirts comprised gecekondus (a Turkish term literally meaning built overnight), referring to the illegally constructed squatter buildings that run rampant outside the centers of the country's largest cities.^[92] At present, some gecekondu areas are being gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds.^[93]

Architecture

Istanbul is primarily known for its Byzantine and Ottoman architecture, but its buildings reflect the various peoples and empires that have ruled its predecessors. Genoese, Roman, and even Greek forms of architecture remain visible in Istanbul alongside their Ottoman counterparts. Similarly, while the Hagia Sophia and imperial mosques dominate much of the city's skyline, the city is also home to a number of historic churches and synagogues.

More than two thousand years following the departure of the Greeks, few examples of Istanbul's Greek architecture have survived. Perhaps the most prominent relic of the Greek era is Maiden's (Leander's) Tower. Residing on an islet in the Bosphorus just off the coast of Üsküdar, Maiden's Tower was first built by the Greeks in 411 BC to guide ships within the strait. Since then, however, the tower has undergone a number of enlargements and restorations, rendering its connection to the Greeks tenuous, and today merely serves as an observation point.^[94]

Examples of Roman architecture have proved themselves to be more durable. Obelisks from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, modeled after the Circus Maximus in Rome, are still visible in Sultanahmet Square.^[95] A section of the Valens Aqueduct, constructed in the late 4th century to carry water to the city, stands relatively intact over 970 meters (3,200 ft) in the west of the Fatih district.^[96] Similarly, the Walls of Constantinople, which were erected in stages well into the Byzantine period, are still visible along much of their original 4-mile (6.4 km) course from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn.^[97] Finally, the Column of Constantine, erected in 330 AD to mark the new Roman capital, still stands not far from the Hippodrome.^[96]

Early Byzantine architecture followed the classical Roman model of domes and arches, but further improved these architectural concepts, as in the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus. The oldest surviving Byzantine church in Istanbul (albeit partially in ruins) is the Stoudios (İmrahor) Monastery, which was built in 454.^[98] Other extant structures from the early Byzantine period include the Hagia Irene, initially the first church in the new capital, and the Prison of Anemas, which was incorporated into the city walls. After the recapture of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantines constructed two of their most important churches, Chora Church and Pammakaristos Church. Across the Golden Horn, the Genoese contributed Galata Tower, then the highest point in the citadel of Galata. Still, the pinnacle of Byzantine architecture, and one of Istanbul's most iconic structures, is the Hagia Sophia. Topped by a dome 31 meters (102 ft) in diameter,^[99] the Hagia Sofia stood as the largest cathedral for more than a thousand years, before being converted into a mosque and, now, a museum.^[34]^[47]

Among the oldest extant examples of Ottoman architecture in Istanbul are the Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı fortresses, which helped block sea traffic aimed at assisting the Byzantines during the Turkish siege of the city.^[100] Over the next four centuries, the Ottomans continued to make an indelible impression on the skyline of Istanbul, building towering mosques and ornate palaces. These grand imperial mosques include Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque), Süleymaniye Mosque, and Yeni Mosque, all of which were built at the peak of the Ottoman Empire, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the following centuries, and especially after the Tanzimat reforms, Ottoman architecture was supplanted by European styles. In contrast to the traditional elements of Topkapı Palace and the mosques on the historic peninsula, Dolmabahçe Palace, Yıldız Palace, and Ortaköy Mosque in Beşiktaş, and Beylerbeyi Palace across the Bosphorus in Üsküdar are clearly of Neo-Baroque style. At the same time, the areas around İstiklal Avenue were filled with grandiose European embassies and rows of buildings in European (mostly Neoclassical and, later, Art Nouveau) style started to appear along the avenue. Istanbul was one of the major centers of the Art Nouveau movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, with famous architects of this style building palaces and mansions in the city.

Administration

Since 2004, Istanbul, the capital of the Istanbul Province, has been one of only two cities in Turkey (the other being İzmit) whose city boundaries are concurrent with the boundaries of its province.^[101] The city is administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI), which oversees the thirty-nine districts of the city-province.^{[note 2]} Also included within the MMI's jurisdiction are seventeen designated towns, up to 52 square kilometers (20 sq mi) in size.^[102]

The current municipal structure has its origins in the Constitution of 1982, which called for special administrative structures for Turkey's largest cities. Just one year earlier, Public Act 2591 had expanded the breadth of the country's metropolitan municipalities, which were first established in 1930; small towns adjacent to major population centers were converted to suburbs and neighborhoods and merged into the municipalities. With the 1984 implementation of Public Act 3030, derived from the Constitution of 1982, two-tier governments (comprising metropolitan municipalities and districts) were established for these amalgamated municipalities, including Istanbul.^[67]

The main decision-making body of the city is the Municipal Council, headed by the metropolitan mayor. Members of the council are drawn from Istanbul's districts, which have their own councils and mayors.^[103] The Municipality Council addresses citywide issues and promotes unity across Istanbul, passing laws that are binding on all of the city's constituent districts. In pursuit of these goals, the council's responsibilities include reviewing contracts, setting the fares on public transport, and regulating taxes.^[104]

Meanwhile, district councils are chiefly responsible for waste management and construction projects within their respective districts. They each maintain their own budgets, although the Municipality Council reserves the right to review and modify their budgets and certain other district decisions. One fifth of all district council members, including the district mayors, also represent their district in the Municipal Council.^[66] All members of the district councils and the Municipal Council, including the metropolitan mayor, are elected to five-year terms.^[103] Representing the Justice and Development Party, Kadir Topbaş—now in his second term—is the current Mayor of Istanbul since March 2004.^[105]

Working alongside the Municipal Council is the Metropolitan Executive Committee. The Committee serves in an advisory role to the council, examining budgets, sales, and other issues on which the Council will have the final say. The Committee also has the authority to execute and make decisions on some minor issues.^[106] The mayor, or someone the mayor appoints, serves as head of the Committee. The remaining members comprise a secretary-general and people in charge of particular departments, including public works, and legal matters. All representatives on the Metropolitan Executive Committee are appointed by the metropolitan mayor.^[107]

With the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Istanbul Province having equivalent jurisdictions, few responsibilities remain for the provincial government. Similar to the MMI, the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration has a governor, a democratically elected decision-making body—the Provincial Parliament—and an appointed Executive Committee. Similar to the Municipal Executive Committee, the Provincial Executive Committee includes a secretary-general and leaders of departments, including health, education, and agricultural departments.^[108] The Provincial Administration's duties are largely limited to the building and maintenance of schools, residences, government buildings, and roads, and the promotion of arts, culture, and natural conservation. These functions are particularly important to the restoration and preservation of Istanbul's historical sites.^[109] The Provincial Administration also determines whether towns meeting a minimum population of 2,000 have sufficient funds to carry out the duties of a municipality. Seventeen such towns exist within the jurisdiction of the MMI and the Istanbul Province and have their own popularly elected town councils with functions similar to district councils.^[102] Hüseyin Avni Mutlu is the current Governor of the Istanbul Province since May 2010.^[110]

Demographics

Template:Historical populations of Istanbul The Turkish Statistic Institute estimates that the population of Istanbul was 13,255,685 on 31 December 2010, making it the largest city in Turkey, with eighteen percent of the country's population.^[2] Because of its vast land area, Istanbul is among the five largest cities proper in the world, even though its metropolitan area, roughly equivalent to the city proper's population, ranks below twentieth.^[111]

Istanbul experienced explosive growth in the second half of the 20th century, with its population increasing tenfold between 1950 and 2000.^[112] This growth in population comes, in part, from an expansion of city limits—particularly between 1980 and 1985, when the number of Istanbulites nearly doubled.^[67] However, the remarkable growth was, and still is, largely fueled by migrants from eastern Anatolia seeking employment and improved living conditions. The number of residents of Istanbul originating from seven northern and eastern provinces is greater than the populations of their entire respective provinces; notably, Sivas and Kastamonu each account for more than half a million residents of Istanbul.^[113] By comparison, the city's small expatriate population amounts to only 42,228 residents, based on 2007 official estimates.^[114]

Present population growth is placed at an average of 3.45 percent annually, due to the influx of people from the surrounding rural areas; this ranks as the highest among the seventy-eight largest OECD metropolises.^[115] During the first seven years of the 21st century, the city's population grew by 2.5 million. Istanbul's population density of 1,700 people per square kilometer (2,700/mi²) far exceeds Turkey's 81 people per square kilometer (130/mi²).^[116] The most densely populated areas tend to lie to the northwest, west, or southwest of the city center, on the European side. The most densely populated district on the Asian side is Üsküdar.^[113]

Throughout most of its history, Istanbul has been among the largest cities in the world. Its geographically strategic location, at the intersection of Europe and the Middle East, combined with its Byzantine and Ottoman political and cultural significance, quickly fostered a large, diverse population. By 500 AD, less than two centuries after Constantine the Great made the city his empire's capital, Constantinople had somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 people, edging out its predecessor Rome for world's largest city.^[117] By some accounts, it had even achieved that title by 360 AD.^[118] Prior to the Fourth Crusade and the arrival of the Latin Empire in the 13th century, Constantinople jostled with other major historical cities, such as Baghdad and Chang'an, for the position of world's most populous city. Following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Istanbul quickly regained—and arguably exceeded—its previous prosperity and diversity. While it never returned to being the world's largest, it remained Europe's largest city until the start of the 19th century.^[118] Today, it is Europe's second-largest city, after Moscow.^[111]

Religious and ethnic groups

Istanbul has been a cosmopolitan city throughout much of its history, being at the crossroads of two continents and having been the heart of two world religions. Most of the religious and ethnic minorities that exist in Turkey are concentrated in Istanbul.

The vast majority of people across Turkey, and in Istanbul, consider themselves Muslim, and more specifically members of the Sunni branch of Islam. Of the Sunnis, most follow the Hanafi school of Islamic thought, although approximately ten percent of Sunni Muslims follow the Shafi'i school. The largest non-Sunni Muslim sect, accounting for 4.5 million Turks, is the Alevis; a third of all Alevis in the country live in Istanbul. Today, there are around three thousand active mosques across Istanbul.^[119]

Istanbul served as the seat of the Islamic Caliphate from 1517 to 1924, when it was dissolved and its powers were handed over to the Turkish Parliament.^[120] In September 1925, the tekkes (Sufi gathering places) and tarikat (Sufi religious orders) were banned, as their activities were deemed incompatible with the characteristics of the new, secular republic. Most followers of Sufism and other forms of Islamic mysticism practiced clandestinely (as "cultural associations") afterward, and some of these sects still boast numerous followers.^[121]

The Patriarch of Constantinople has been designated Ecumenical Patriarch since the 5th century. The Ecumenical Patriarch is widely regarded as the leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians (although this role has been disputed by the Moscow Patriarchate). Since 1600, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has been based in Istanbul's Church of St. George. Istanbul's Orthodox Christians are members of the Greek Orthodox Church. However, the Christian population today is much lower than it used to be, having dropped from 450,000 to 240,000 between 1914 and 1927, as a series of wars plagued the outgoing empire and the new republic.^[122]

Greeks have been living continuously in Istanbul since the city's founding in antiquity. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were over 100,000 Greeks living in Istanbul,^[123] especially in the Fener and Samatya quarters, and over 1.5 million living in Anatolia as a whole.^[124] Due to their role in the Turkish economy, the ethnic Greeks of Istanbul living in the city before 30 October 1918 (the etablis) were excluded from the 1923 population exchange. However, because of the 1942 wealth tax, the 1955 Istanbul Pogrom, the 1964 expulsions^[123] and the 1974 Cyprus crisis, the number of Greeks in Istanbul diminished enormously, and is today estimated to comprise between 2,000 and 4,000, mostly elderly, citizens.^[125]

Istanbul used to have a sizable Armenian population, especially in the Kumkapı district, dating back to Byzantine times. Only during the 20th century did the population begin to decline, although immigrants from Armenia have recently caused it to rebound. In 2008, Istanbul's Armenian minority was numbered at 85,000, comprising 45,000 Armenian citizens of Turkey and 40,000 Armenian citizens who have immigrated to the city since 1991.^[125]^[126] A number of places reflect past immigration of different communities into Istanbul; most notable among them are Arnavutköy (Albanian village), Polonezköy (Polish village), and Yenibosna (New Bosnia). What is now the Beyoğlu district also used to be home to Italians and Franco-Levantines, but these minority groups have virtually disappeared, having emigrated or moved to other districts.

Sephardi Jews have lived in the city, especially in the Balat district, for over five hundred years, after fleeing the Iberian Peninsula during the Spanish Inquisition. More than 200,000 Jews fled first to North Africa and Italy before arriving in Istanbul, while an additional 93,000 were rescued at the behest of Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512). Another large group of Sephardic Jews came from southern Italy, which was under Spanish control. Ashkenazi Jews resided in Istanbul before the Sephardim, but today their numbers are very small; today, just four percent of Turkey's 23,000 Jews are Ashkenazi. The vast majority of the Jews—Sephardi or Ashkenazi—that remain in the country reside in Istanbul, which has about twenty synagogues.^[127]

The largest ethnic minority in Istanbul is the Kurds, originating from eastern and southeastern Anatolia. Although the Kurdish presence in the city dates back to the early Ottoman period,^[128] the influx of Kurds into the city has accelerated since the beginning of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (i.e. since the late 1970s).^[129] Currently, some sources estimate that three million residents of Istanbul—a quarter of the city's population—is Kurdish,^[130] meaning there are more Kurds in Istanbul than in any other city in the world.^[131] That means about one fifth of all Kurds in Turkey live in Istanbul. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but some are Yazidi or Yarsani.

Economy

A night cityscape: lit high-rise buildings adorn a major thoroughfare under a night sky

The Levent business district at night lies west of the (First) Bosphorus Bridge.

Apart from being the largest city and former political capital of the country, Istanbul has always been the center of Turkey's economic life because of its location at the junction of international land and sea trade routes.

With a GDP of US$182 billion in 2008, Istanbul ranked 34th among the world's urban areas in terms of gross domestic product, according to a survey by PwC.^[132] Istanbul is responsible for 27 percent of Turkey's GDP, with 20 percent of the country's industrial labor force residing in the city.^[116]^[115] Its GDP per capita and productivity are greater than their national averages by seventy percent and fifty percent, respectively, owing in part to the focus on high-value-added activities. With its high population and significant contribution to the Turkish economy, Istanbul is responsible for two fifths of the nation's tax revenue.^[115] That includes the taxes of 30 billionaires based in Istanbul, the 5th-highest number among global cities, according to Forbes.^[133]

A daytime cityscape: a row of high-rises, with greenery in the foreground, beyond a pale blue sky

Maslak is another of Istanbul's modern central business districts.

As expected for a city of its size, Istanbul has a diverse industrial economy, producing commodities as varied as olive oil, tobacco, transport vehicles, and electronics.^[116] Despite having a focus on high-value-added work, its low-value-added manufacturing sector is substantial, representing just 26 percent of Istanbul's GDP, but four fifths of the city's total exports.^[115] In 2005, companies based in Istanbul produced exports worth {{subst:dtag|nowiki|US$41.4 billion}} and received imports totaling {{subst:dtag|nowiki|US$69.9 billion}}; these figures were equivalent to 57 percent and 60 percent, respectively, of the national totals.^[134]

Istanbul is home to Turkey's only securities market, the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Although it was originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange in 1866, its importance declined after the Great Depression in the 1930s. It was ultimately reorganized into its current form at the start of 1986, following a series of governmental financial liberalization programs.^[135] In 1995, the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to its current building in the İstinye quarter.^[136]

During the 19th century and early 20th century, Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) in Galata was the financial center of the Ottoman Empire, where the Ottoman Stock Exchange was located. The Ottoman central bank also had its headquarters along the street; it was established as the Bank-ı Osmanî (Ottoman Bank) in 1856 before being renamed as the Bank-i-ı Osmani Şahane (Imperial Ottoman Bank) in 1863.^[137] Bankalar Caddesi continued to be Istanbul's main financial district until the 1990s, when most Turkish banks began moving their headquarters to the modern central business districts of Levent and Maslak.^{[citation needed]}

Tourism

A busy street lined with shops in historic stone buildings

The historic İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul's cosmopolitan Beyoğlu district, an area frequented by tourists.

Because of its rich and long history reflected in its plethora of sites and monuments, and its location at the threshold of the Middle East, Istanbul is a major tourist destination. In 2010, during which Istanbul was named a European Capital of Culture, the city received 7 million foreign tourists, down from 7.5 million in the previous year but up from the mere 2.4 million it received in 2000.^[138]^[139] Istanbul is Turkey's second-largest international gateway, after Antalya, receiving a quarter of the nation's foreign tourists. Accounting for fifteen percent of tourists from abroad, Germany (which has the largest Turkish population outside Turkey) is the most common source of international tourists to Istanbul. While most of these tourists enter Istanbul through one of its two international airports, half a million foreign tourists enter the city by sea, as its a popular destination for cruise ships.^[139]

In 2009, Istanbul had approximately 365 hotels licensed by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism, ninety percent of which are located on the European side. Low- and mid-range hotels, including locally-licensed (rather than nationally-licensed) hotels, tend to be located in Fatih and around Sultanahmet Square (originally the Hippodrome of Constantinople) on the historic peninsula, while higher-end hotels are primarily located in Beşiktaş, Beyoğlu, Şişli, and other areas north of the Golden Horn. The city has sixty-nine museums (comparable to London's seventy-six), with its most visited being the Topkapı Palace Museum. The Topkapı Palace Museum, visited by three million people annually, accounts for about half of the 55 million TL (US$30 million) taken in by Istanbul museums each year. Istanbul's second-most-visited museum is the nearby Hagia Sophia Museum, earning 21.5 million TL (US$12 million) from 2.5 million visitors each year. The city's environmental master plan also notes there are 17 palaces, 64 mosques, and 49 churches of historical significance.^[139]

Culture

Fine arts

Istanbul is becoming increasingly colourful in terms of its rich social, cultural, and commercial activities. While world famous pop stars fill stadiums, activities like opera, ballet and theatre 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,^[140] while the Istanbul Biennial is another major event of fine arts.

Annually Istanbul hosts music and opera festivals. These festival are an outgrowth of Turkey's government policy starting in the early 1930s to introduce and instutionalize the teaching and performing of polyphonic music and opera. The policy was implemented using highly acclaimed musicologists, performers, composers, etc. who were at risk in their native Germany. Among them were Paul Hindemith, Licco Amar, Carl Ebert, and Ernst Praetorius. They are part of a music and opera directorate bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Istanbul Modern frequently hosts the exhibitions of renowned Turkish and foreign artists. Pera Museum andSakıp Sabancı Museum have hosted the exhibitions of world famous artists and are among the most important private museums in the city. The Doğançay Museum – Turkey’s first contemporary art museum – is dedicated almost exclusively to the work of its founder Burhan Doğançay. The Rahmi M. Koç Museum on the Golden Horn is an industrial museum that exhibits historic industrial equipment such as cars and locomotives from the 19th century and early 20th century, as well as boats, submarines, aircraft, and other similar vintage machines from past epochs.

Istanbul Archaeology Museum, established in 1881, is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world. The museum contains more than 1,000,000 archaeological pieces from the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans, Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Istanbul Mosaic Museum contains the late Roman and early Byzantine floor mosaics and wall ornaments of theGreat Palace of Constantinople. The nearby Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum displays a vast collection of items from various Islamic civilisations. Sadberk Hanım Museum contains a wide variety of artifacts, dating from the earliest Anatolian civilisations to the Ottomans.^[141]

Occasionally, in November, the Silahhane (Armory Hall) of Yıldız Palace hosts the Istanbul Antiques Fair, which brings together rare pieces of antiques from the Orient and Occident.^[142] The multi-storey Mecidiyeköy Antikacılar Çarşısı^[143] (Mecidiyeköy Antiques Bazaar) in the Mecidiyeköy quarter ofŞişli is the largest antiques market in the city, while the Çukurcuma neighbourhood of Beyoğlu has rows of antiques shops in its streets. The Grand Bazaar, edificed between 1455–1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror also has numerous antiques shops, along with shops selling jewels, carpets and other items of art and artisanship. Historic and rare books are found in the Sahaflar Çarşısı nearBeyazıt Square, and it is one of the oldest book markets in the world, and has continuously been active in the same location since the late Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

Live shows and concerts are hosted at a number of locations including historical sites such as the Hagia Irene,Rumeli Fortress, Yedikule Castle, the courtyard of Topkapı Palace, andGülhane Park; as well as the Atatürk Cultural Center, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall and other open air and modern theatre halls.

Turkish baths

A significant culture has been developed around what is known as a Hamam, the Turkish word for aTurkish Bath. It was a culture of leisure during the Ottoman period, one of the finest example being the Çemberlitaş Hamamı (1584) in Istanbul, located on the Çemberlitaş (Column of Constantine) Square.^[144] Another fine example from the 17th century is the Galatasaray Hamamı, located on the Beyoğlu district, known for the quality of service and its cleanliness. In the Ottoman Empire, many Hamams were also actually build adjacent to mosques, as part of the "külliye" (complex). A very fine example to this is the Hamam of the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque built by Mimar Sinan.

Recreation

Recently, old beaches have reopened in the city. The most popular places for swimming in the city are inBakırköy, Küçükçekmece, Sarıyer and the Bosphorus. Outside the city are the Marmara Sea's Princes' Islands, Silivri and Tuzla; as well as Kilyos and Şile on the Black Sea.

The Princes' Islands (Adalar) are a group of islands where motor transportation is prohibited, located in theMarmara Sea, south of the Kartal and Pendik districts. Pine and stone-pinewooden neoclassical and art nouveau-style Ottoman era summer mansions from the 19th century and early 20th century, horse-drawn carriages and seafood restaurants make them a popular destination. They can be reached by commuter ferries or high-speed catamaran Seabus (Deniz otobüsü) from Eminönü and Bostancı. Of the nine islands, only five are settled.

Şile is a distant and well-known Turkish seaside resort on the Black Sea, 50 kilometers (31 mi) from Istanbul, where unspoiled white sand beaches can be found. Kilyos is a small calm seaside resort not far from the northern European entrance of the Bosphorus at the Black Sea. The place has good swimming possibilities and has become popular in the recent years among the inhabitants of Istanbul as a place for excursions. Kilyos offers a beach park with seafood restaurants and night clubs, being particularly active in the summer with many night parties and live concerts on the beach.

Shopping

Istanbul has numerous historic shopping centers, such as the Grand Bazaar (1461),Mahmutpaşa Bazaar (1462) and the Egyptian Bazaar (1660). The first modern shopping mall in Turkey was Galleria Ataköy (1987), which was followed by dozens of others in the later decades, such as Akmerkez (1993), which is the only mall to win both "Europe's Best" and "World's Best" awards by the ICSC; Metrocity (2003); Cevahir Mall (2005), which is the largest mall in Europe; and Kanyon Mall (2006), which won the 2006 Cityscape Architectural Review Award for its interesting design. İstinye Park (2007) and City's Nişantaşı (2008) are two new malls that target high-end consumers and are almost exclusively dedicated to world-famous fashion brands.

Restaurants

Along with the traditional Turkish restaurants, many European and Far Eastern restaurants and numerous other cuisines are also thriving in the city. Most of the city's historic winehouses (meyhane in Turkish) and pubs are located in the areas around İstiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu. The 19th century Çiçek Pasajı(literally Flower Passage in Turkish, or Cité de Péra in French) on İstiklal Avenue, which has many historic meyhanes, pubs and restaurants, was built by Hristaki Zoğrafos Efendi at the former site of the Naum Theatre and was inaugurated in 1876. The famous Nevizâde Street, which has rows of historic meyhanes next to each other, is also in this area.

Other historic pubs are found in the areas around Tünel Pasajı and the nearby Asmalımescit Sokağı. Some historic neighbourhoods around İstiklal Avenue have recently been recreated, with differing levels of success; such as Cezayir Sokağı near Galatasaray High School, that has rows of pubs, cafés and restaurants playing live music.^[145]

Istanbul is also famous for its historic seafood restaurants; as an example, the Kumkapı neighbourhood has a pedestrian-only area that is dedicated to fish restaurants. Some 30 fish restaurants are found there, many of them among the best of the city. Also, many of the most popular and upscale seafood restaurants (with picturesque views) are found along the shores of the Bosphorus, particularly in Bebek, Arnavutköy,Yeniköy, Beylerbeyi and Çengelköy; and by the Marmara Sea shore towards the south of the city.^[146]^[147]The largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara (namely Büyükada, Heybeliada, Burgazada andKınalıada) and Anadolu Kavağı near the northern entrance of the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea (close toYoros Castle, which was also known as the Genoese Castle due to Genoa's possession of it in the mid-15th century) also have many historic seafood restaurants.

Nightlife

There are many night clubs, pubs, restaurants and taverns with live music in the city. The night clubs, restaurants and bars increase in number and move to open air spaces in the summer. The areas around Istiklal Avenue,Nişantaşı, Bebek and Kadıköy offer all sorts of cafés, restaurants, pubs and clubs as well as art galleries, theaters and cinemas. Babylon^[148] and Nu Pera in Beyoğlu are popular night clubs both in the summer and in the winter.

The most open air summer time seaside night clubs are found on the Bosphorus, such as Sortie,^[149]^[150]Reina^[151]^[152] and Anjelique^[153] in the Ortaköy district. Q Jazz Barin Ortaköy offers live jazz music in a stylish environment.

Venues such as Istanbul Arena in Maslak and Kuruçeşme Arena^[154] on the Bosphorus frequently host the live concerts of famous singers and bands from all corners of the world.Parkorman^[155] in Maslak hosted the Isle of MTV Party in 2002 and is a popular venue for live concerts and rave parties in the summer.

Media

The first Turkish newspaper, Takvim-i Vekayi, was printed on 1 August 1831 in the Bâbıâli (Bâb-ı Âli, meaningThe Sublime Porte) district. Bâbıâli became the main centre for print media. Istanbul is also the printing capital of Turkey with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. Most nationwide newspapers are based in Istanbul, with simultaneous Ankara and İzmir editions.^[156] Major newspapers with their headquarters in Istanbul includeHürriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman, Türkiye, Akşam, Bugün, Star, Dünya, Tercüman, Güneş, Vatan, Posta, Takvim, Vakit, Yeni Şafak, Fanatik and Turkish Daily News. There are also numerous local and national TV and radio stations located in Istanbul, such as Star TV,Show TV, Sky Türk, MTV Türkiye, Fox Türkiye, Fox Sports Türkiye, NTV, Samanyolu TV, Kanal D, ATV, CNBC-e, CNN Türk, Cine5, TGRT Haber, Kanal 7, Kanal Türk, Flash TV and many others. In the city of Istanbul, there are over a hundred FM-radio stations.^[157]

Sports

During the Roman and Byzantine periods, the most important sporting events were the quadriga chariot races that were held at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which had a capacity to accommodate more than 100,000 spectators.^[158] Today, sports like football, basketball and volleyball are very popular in the city. In addition to Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, which field teams in multiple sports, several other clubs have also excelled in particular team sports; such as Efes Pilsen, Fenerbahçe Ülker, Galatasaray Medical Park and Beşiktaş Cola Turka in basketball; or Eczacıbaşı, Vakıfbank and Fenerbahçe in volleyball.

The Atatürk Olympic Stadium, the largest multi-purpose stadium in Turkey, is a 5-star UEFA stadium and a first-class venue for track and field; having reached the highest required standards set by the International Olympic Committee and sports federations such as the IAAF, FIFA and UEFA. The stadium hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home of Fenerbahçe, which is also a 5-star UEFA stadium, hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final that went down to history as the last Final of the UEFA Cup football tournament when the competition was replaced by theUEFA Europa League in the 2009–2010 season.^[159]^[160]

File:Galatasaray new stadium 1.jpg

Türk Telekom Arena is the new home ground of Galatasaray.

The Sinan Erdem Dome, the largest multi-purpose indoor arena in Turkey, hosted the Final of the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship, and will also be the venue for the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 FINA Short Course World Championships. The Abdi İpekçi Arena hosted the Final of EuroBasket 2001, and was also the venue for the 1992 Euroleague Final Four.

Istanbul hosts several annual motorsports events, such as the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix, the MotoGP Grand Prix of Turkey, the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the GP2 and the Le Mans Series1,000 km (621 mi) races at the Istanbul Park GP Racing Circuit. From time to time Istanbul also hosts the Turkish leg of the F1 Powerboat Racing on theBosphorus. Several annual sailing and yacht races take place on the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The Golden Horn is where the rowing races take place. Major clubs like Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, and major universities such as the Bosphorus University have rowing teams. Air racing is new to the city. On 29 July 2006, Istanbul hosted the 5th leg of the spectacular Red Bull Air Race World Series, as well as the 4th leg on 2 June 2007, in both cases above theGolden Horn.

Personal sports like golf, horse riding and tennis are gaining popularity as the city hosts international tournaments such as the WTA Istanbul Cup. For aerobics and bodybuilding, numerous fitness clubs are available. The Paintball sport has recently gained popularity and is practiced by two large clubs in the proximity of Istanbul. Martial arts and other Eastern disciplines and practices such as Aikido andYoga can be exercised in several centers across the city. Istanbul also hosts the annual MTBraces in the nearby Belgrad Forest and Büyükada Island. Two of the most prominent cycling teams of Turkey, namely the Scott/Marintek MTB Team and the Kron/Sektor Bikes/Efor Bisiklet MTB Team, are from Istanbul.

Istanbul is currently bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[161]

Education

Istanbul has some of the finest institutions of higher education in Turkey, including more than thirty-five universities. Most of the reputable universities are public, but, in recent years, there has been an upsurge in the number of private universities, with more than a dozen founded since 2006.

Istanbul University, founded as an Islamic school in 1453, is the oldest Turkish educational institution in the city,^[162] while Istanbul Technical University (founded in 1773) is the world's third-oldest university dedicated entirely to engineering sciences.^[163] These public universities are two of just eight across the city; other prominent state universities in Istanbul include Boğaziçi University, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, and Marmara University.^[164] Istanbul Medeniyet University, founded in 2010,^[165] is the newest public university. Private universities have a very short history, going back to just the early 1990s, with the establishment of Istanbul Commerce University, Kadir Has University, and Koç University;^[166] today, there are at least thirty private universities in the city.^[167]

In 2007, there were about 4,350 schools, about half of which were primary; on average, each school had 688 students. In recent years, Istanbul's educational system has expanded substantially; from 2000 to 2007, the number of classrooms and teachers nearly doubled and the number of students increased by more than sixty percent.^[168]

File:Aerial view of Galatasaray Lisesi.jpg

Galatasaray High School, built at the request of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II, is the city's oldest high school.

Galatasaray High School, established in 1481 as the Galata Palace Imperial School, is the oldest high school in Istanbul and the second-oldest educational institution in the city. It was built at the behest of Sultan Bayezid II, who sought to bring students with diverse backgrounds together as a means of further strengthening his growing empire.^[169] It is one of Turkey's eighty-three Anatolian High Schools, elite public high schools that admit students based on examination. As they were originally furnished for Turkish children who returned home from foreign countries, they place a stronger emphasis on instruction in foreign languages. Galatasaray, for example, offers instruction in French, while other Anatolian High Schools primarily teach in English or German alongside Turkish.^[170] The city also has many foreign high schools, such as Liceo Italiano and Robert College, that were established in the 19th century to educate foreigners.

A few of Istanbul's other high schools are notable for their styles of teaching or entrance requirements. Kuleli Military High School, located along the shores of the Bosphorus in Çengelköy, and Turkish Naval High School, located on one of the Princes' Islands, are military high schools, complemented by three military academies—the Turkish Air Force, Turkish Military, and Turkish Naval Academies. Another important school in Turkey is Darüşşafaka High School, which provides free education to children across the country without fathers. Darüşşafaka begins instruction with the fourth grade, providing instruction in English and, starting in sixth grade, a second foreign language—German or French.^[171]^[172] Other prominent high schools in Istanbul include Kabataş Erkek Lisesi (founded in 1908)^[173] and Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi (founded in 1955).^[174]

Public services

Istanbul's first water supply systems date back to the city's early history, during the Byzantine era. The two greatest aqueducts from the Roman period are the Mazulkemer Aqueduct and the Valens Aqueduct. These were built to channel water from the Halkalı area at the western edge of the city to the Beyazıt district in the city center, which was then known as the Forum Tauri.^[175] After reaching the city center, the water was collected in the city's numerous cisterns, including the Cistern of Philoxenos and the Basilica Cistern. In the mid-16th century, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned Mimar Sinan, his chief architect and engineer, to improve the water infrastructure of the city. This resulted in the Kırkçeşme water supply network, which, by 1563, provided 4,200 cubic meters (150,000 cu ft) of water to 158 sites each day.^[175] In later years, with the aim of responding to the ever-increasing public demand, water from various springs was channeled to public fountains, like the Fountain of Ahmed III, by means of supply lines.^[176] Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage treatment system managed by the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İSKİ).^[177]

The Silahtarağa Power Station, a coal-fired power plant along the Golden Horn, was the sole source of Istanbul's electricity between 1914, when its first engine room was completed, and 1952.^[178] Following the founding of the Republic, the plant underwent a number of renovations to accommodate the city's increasing demand; its capacity grew from 23 megawatts in 1923 to a peak of 120 megawatts in 1956.^[178]^[179] Capacity had declined to 100 megawatts by the 1970s and in 1983, cooling water around the power station became insufficient to continue operation. As a result, the Silahtarağa Power Station was forced to shut down.^[180] After years of renovations, the plant was reopened in 2007 as SantralIstanbul, an arts and cultural center.^[181] The state-run Turkish Electrical Authority (TEK) briefly—between its founding in 1970 and 1984—held a monopoly on the generation and distribution of electricity, but now the authority—since split between the Turkish Electricity Generation Transmission Company (TEAŞ) and the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAŞ)—competes with private electric utilities.^[179]

The Ottoman Ministry of Post and Telegraph was established in 1840; the first post office, the Imperial Post Office, opened near the courtyard of Istanbul's Yeni Mosque. By 1876, the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire had been established. Money transfer and cargo services were added at the start of the 20th century, in 1901.^[182] Samuel Morse received his first-ever patent for the telegraph in 1847, at the old Beylerbeyi Palace (the present Beylerbeyi Palace was built 1861–1865 on the same location). The patent was issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I, who, enthralled by innovation like his father, personally tested the new invention.^[183]^[184] Construction of the first telegraph line—between Istanbul and Edirne—followed thereafter, with the project finished in time to announce the end of the Crimean War in 1856.^[184] In the meantime, in 1855, the Directorate of the Telegraph was established.^[182] A nascent telephone circuit emerged in Istanbul in 1881, as the Imperial Post Office was linked with a post office in Galata.^[185] After the first manual telephone exchange became operational in Istanbul in 1909, the Ministry of Post and Telegraph became the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone.^[182] Of course, Istanbul's telephone infrastructure has developed substantially in the century since. GSM cellular networks arrived in Turkey in 1994, with Istanbul among the first cities to receive the service.^[186] Today, mobile and landline service is provided by a number of private companies, after Türk Telekom, which split from the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone in 1995, was privatized in 2005.^[182]^[186] Postal services remain under the purview of what is now the Post and Telegraph Organization (retaining the initialism PTT).^[182]

In 2000, Istanbul had 137 hospitals, of which one hundred were private.^[187] All Turkish citizens, as well as those paying government insurance, are entitled to subsidized healthcare in the nation's state-run hospitals. As public hospitals tend to be overcrowded or otherwise slow, private hospitals are preferable for those who can afford them and their prevalence has increased significantly over the last decade; the percentage of outpatients using private hospitals increased from 6 percent to 23 percent between 2005 and 2009.^[188] Many of these private hospitals, as well as some of the public hospitals, are equipped with high-tech equipment, including MRI machines, or associated with medical research centers.^[189] Turkey has more hospitals accredited by Joint Commission International than any other country in the world, with most concentrated in its big cities; the high quality of healthcare, especially in private hospitals, has contributed to a recent upsurge in medical tourism to Turkey (with a forty percent increase between just 2007 and 2008 alone).^[190] Laser eye surgery is particularly common among medical tourists, as Turkey is known for specializing in the procedure.^[191]

Transportation

Istanbul's primary motorways are the O-1, O-2, O-3, and O-4. The 26-kilometer (16 mi) O-1 forms Istanbul's inner ring road, extending from Bakırköy to Kadikoy, across the Bosphorus Bridge. Its western terminus is O-3, which continues west to Edirne, while its eastern terminus is O-4, which continues the 372 kilometers (231 mi) east to Ankara. The 40-kilometer (25 mi) O-2 forms Istanbul's outer ring road, crossing the Bosphorus on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosphorus) Bridge.^[192] The O-2, O-3, and O-4 are coterminous with European route Template:European route E throughout their entire lengths, although the E-80 (also known as the Trans European Motorway) continues west to Portugal and east to the Turkish–Iranian border.

The two Bosphorus Bridges form the only road connections between the Asian and European sides of Turkey, although a third Third Bosphorus Bridge has been proposed due to the high volume of traffic both existing bridges experience; together, the two Bosphorus Bridges carry 150 million vehicles each year.^[193] The O-2 is more commonly used for intercity and through traffic, while the O-1 is better suited for local traffic. The Golden Horn is, from north to south, spanned by the Haliç Bridge (which carries the O-1), the Atatürk Bridge, and the Galata Bridge.^[194]

Istanbul is traversed by a number of arterial avenues that do not follow an apparent systematic layout. Among the most important of these is Büyükdere Avenue, which runs through the central business districts of Levent and Maslak. Büyükdere Avenue connects with Barbaros Boulevard, which descends toward the ferry port of Beşiktaş. There it intersects with the coastal highway that runs along the European shore of the Bosphorus, from Eminönü in the south to Sarıyer in the north. State road D.100 crosses Istanbul, extending the full length of Turkey, but its precise route through Istanbul is not defined.^[192]

Local travel

Istanbul's local transportation system is a complex network of trams, funiculars, light-rail lines, metro lines, buses, bus rapid transit, and even ferries. Fares across modes are integrated, using the contactless Istanbulkart, introduced in 2009, or the older Akbil electronic ticket device.^[195]

Local public transportation was introduced to Istanbul in 1872, with the opening of four horse-drawn trams. Several additional horse-drawn trams were added to the city's network during the remainder of the 19th century and at the start of the 20th century, but the first electric tram did not arrive in Istanbul until 1914. This new tram connected Karaköy and Eminönü, which until then were not linked by public transportation due to the wooden construction of the Galata Bridge (which was rebuilt as a steel bridge in 1912).^[196]

Annual tram ridership peaked in 1956 with 108 million passengers across 56 lines. However, modernization projects across the city slowly led to the death of the tram; within a decade, all of Istanbul's streetcars were out of service. Thereafter, bus service, first introduced in 1928, expanded. Trolleybuses were also added, under the belief they were more energy-efficient, but they too ceased operations, in 1984. Trams, operated by Istanbul Electricity, Tramway, and Tunnel (IETT), slowly returned to the city beginning in 1990, with the reopening of the route along İstiklal Avenue.^[196] Faster, more modern trams were first put into service between Sirkeci and the neighborhood of Topkapı in 1992, with T1. Tram service across the Golden Horn was restored for the first time in 44 years in 2005, with the line's continuation from Eminönü to Fındıklı; its present eastern terminus of Kabataş was completed in 2006, while its western terminus of Bağcılar was reached in 2011. Today, Istanbul's modern tram line has a daily ridership of 265,000 passengers.^[197]

Istanbul is served by two underground funiculars, of very different ages and styles. The Tünel (F2) opened in 1875 as the world's second-oldest subterranean rail line (after London's Metropolitan Railway),^[196] carrying passengers between Karaköy and Beyoğlu (then known as Galata and Pera). Originally steam-powered, the Tünel was upgraded in 1971 and now a ride up or down its steep 573-meter (1,880 ft) track takes just ninety seconds.^[198] The second funicular line, the Kabataş-Taksim Funicular, is much newer, having just entered service in 2006; this 600-meter (2,000 ft) line (F1) links Taksim Square with the T1 terminus along the shore of the Bosphorus at Kabataş, accommodating 30,000 passengers on a daily basis.^[199]

The Istanbul LRT is a light rail system consisting of two lines—the M1 and the T4. The first phase of the M1 opened in 1989, but its full 19.6-kilometer (12.2 mi) length—between Aksaray and Atatürk International Airport—was not finished until 2002.^[200] The first phase of T4 opened in 2007, but its full length from Topkapı to Habibler was not realized until 2009.^[201] Both lines are completely segregated from other traffic and free from level crossings. Construction of the Istanbul Metro began in 1992 and the first completed section of M2, between Taksim and 4.Levent, entered service in 2000. The line has since been extended to Hacıosman, at its northern end, and Şişhane, at its southern end; a continuation across the Golden Horn, to the T1 at Yenikapı, is currently under construction.^[202]^[203] Another subway line, M4, is expected to begin operation in 2012, with the line eventually running 21.6 kilometers (13.4 mi), from Kadıköy to Kartal on the Asian side of the city.^[204] The two sides of Istanbul's local—and long-distance—rail network will ultimately be connected under the Bosphorus when the Marmaray tunnel, the first rail connection of any kind between Thrace and Anatolia, is completed in 2015.^[205]

Until then, ferries compose the primary mode of public transportation between the European and Asian halves of the city. Steam ferries, initially run by private companies, first appeared on the Bosphorus in 1851.^[206] Today, İDO (Istanbul Seabuses) runs a combination of all-passenger ferries and car-and-passenger ferries, with its largest being able to accommodate 1500 passengers or 1200 passengers and 225 vehicles;^[207] smaller and slower boats, called "seabuses", have capacities of fewer than 500 people.^[208] Ferries within the city primarily run via Anatolian Istanbul's port of Kadıköy or European Istanbul's port of Kabataş.^[209] Regularly scheduled routes can go as far up the Bosphorus as Sarıyer, while some infrequent routes during the summer season continue to Anadolu Kavağı, along the Black Sea. Further still, İDO operates longer-distance ferries to cities along the Sea of Marmara and to the Princes' Islands.^[210]

Buses also provide transportation between the two halves of Istanbul, and across shorter distances within each side, accommodating 2.2 million passenger-trips across 521,500 kilometers (324,000 mi) each weekday.^[211] The Metrobus, a form of bus rapid transit, was introduced in 2007 in a bid to relieve congestion over the Bosphorus Bridge. Today, the line runs 42 kilometers (26 mi) between Avcılar on the European side, near Istanbul University, and Söğütlüçeşme railway station in Kadıköy. The Metrobus runs on dedicated lanes between its termini and the Bosphorus Bridge, where it continues its route in mixed traffic. IETT estimates that the 600,000–700,000 passengers that utilize the Metrobus on a daily basis each save an average of 52 minutes per day, due to no longer waiting in traffic approaching the bridge.^[212]

Intercity travel

As the only sea route between the oil-rich Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosphorus is one of the busiest waterways in the world; more than 200 million tonnes of oil pass through the strait each year, and the traffic on the Bosphorus is three times that on the Suez Canal.^[213] Unsurprisingly then, Istanbul's ports are used by more than just local ferries. The city's main cargo port is the Port of Haydarpaşa, located in Kadıköy on the Asian side of Bosphorus. With an annual cargo capacity of 5.9 million tonnes, the Port of Haydarpaşa is Turkey's third-largest port, after Mersin and Izmir.^[214] Cruise liners, with ports of call around the Mediterranean or the Black Sea, tend to dock at Karaköy or Pendık; in 2009, these cruises brought 450,000 foreign tourists to Istanbul. Two of Turkey's thirty-four marinas—Ataköy Marina and Kalamış Marina—are in Istanbul, primarily serving small, private boats.^[139]

When Belgian entrepreneur Georges Nagelmackers began advertising rail service between Paris and Istanbul in 1883, steamships were used to bring passengers the final leg, from Varna to Istanbul. However, with the completion of a direct rail line between the Ottoman capital and Bucharest in 1889, international rail service from Istanbul's Sirkeci Terminal to the remainder of Europe finally became possible.^[58] Nagelmackers' route, known as the Orient Express, became famous around the world due to the works of authors Agatha Christie and Graham Greene. Today, while direct service to Paris is no longer available, regular service has been offered to be offered to Bucharest (the Bosphorus Express), as well as to Thessaloniki (the Dostluk Express). However, the Bosphorus Express has been suspended indefinitely since February 2011,^[215] and construction of the Marmaray tunnel has forced train services between Istanbul and the Bulgarian frontier on the Bucharest line to be replaced with bus service.^[216]

When Istanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal opened in 1908, it served as the terminus of the Baghdad Railway and an extension of the Hejaz Railway, which went from Damascus to Medina.^[217] Service to Baghdad ended in the 1980s and service to Damascus via Aleppo now begins in Gaziantep.^[218]^[219] Frequent service to Ankara and regular service to other points across Turkey are normally offered by Turkish State Railways, but construction of the Mamaray rail tunnel and the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed line have forced the station to close in February 2012.^[220] Combined with the closures from Sirkeci the following month, Istanbul is currently left without intercity rail service. Following the completion of the Marmaray and Istanbul-Ankara rail projects, new stations to replace both the Haydarpaşa and Sirkeci terminals, and connect the city's disjointed railway networks, are expected to open.^[220]

Private bus companies operate routes along, but also well beyond, those offered by the rail network. Istanbul's main bus station is the largest in Europe, with a capacity of 15,000 buses and 600,000 passengers each day.^[221] Direct bus service is available to as far as Frankfurt, 1,870 kilometers (1,160 mi) away.^[222] Even prior to the closure of Haydarpaşa, intercity travel by coach was the most popular mode of domestic travel, in part because buses in Turkey—unlike in many other developed countries—offer service comparable to their rail counterparts.

Istanbul has two international airports, the larger of which is Atatürk International Airport. Atatürk International, located 24 kilometers (15 mi) west of the city center, handled 37.4 million passengers in 2011; this ranks it the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and among the thirty busiest in the world.^[223] Atatürk International, which opened in 1953, is Turkey's primary international air gateway, serving 300 airlines (including Turkish Airlines, whose hub is Ataturk).^[139] Sabiha Gökçen International Airport opened on the Asian side of the city, 45 kilometers (28 mi) east of the European city center, to relieve Atatürk International, which was considered unable to keep up with the increasing air traffic to the city. Sabiha Gökçen International is primarily served by low-cost carriers flying to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Istanbul's second airport has rapidly become popular among travelers in the ten years since it opened, in 2001; the airport handled 12.7 million passengers in 2011, two years after a new international terminal opened, and was named the world's fastest growing airport by Airports Council International the same year.^[224]^[225]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c The foundation of Byzantion (Byzantium) is sometimes, especially in encyclopedic or other tertiary sources, placed firmly in 667 BC. However, historians have disputed the precise year the city was founded. Commonly cited is the work of 5th-century-BC historian Herodotus, which says the city was founded seventeen years after the city of Chalcedon,^[9] which came into existence around 685 BC. However, Eusebius of Caesarea, while concurring with 685 BC as the year Chalcedon was founded, places Byzantion's establishment in 659 BC.^[10] Among more modern historians, Carl Roebuck proposed the 640s BC^[11] while others have suggested even later. Further, the foundation date of Chalcedon is itself subject to some debate; while many sources place it in 685 BC,^[12] others put it in 675 BC^[13] or even 639 BC (with Byzantion's establishment placed in 619 BC).^[10] As such, some sources have opted to refer to Byzantium's foundation as simply located in the 7th century BC.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sources have provided conflicting figures on the area of Istanbul. The most authoritative source on this figure ought to be the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI), but the English version of its website suggests a few figures for this area. One page states that "Each MM is sub-divided into District Municipalities ("DM") of which there are 27 in Istanbul" [emphasis added] with a total area of 1,538.9 square kilometers (594.2 sq mi).^[66] However, the Municipal History page appears to be the most explicit and most updated, saying that in 2004, "Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's jurisdiction was enlarged to cover all the area within the provincial limits". It also states a 2008 law merged the Eminönü district into the Fatih district (a point that is not reflected in the previous source) and increased the number of districts in Istanbul to thirty-nine.^[67] That total area, as corroborated on the Turkish version of the MMI website,^[68] and a recently updated Jurisdiction page on the English site^[69] is 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi).
^ The end of Byzantium Empire is universally regarded as 1453, despite the temporary survival of remnants in Morea and Trebizond.^[36]

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^ "Radiomap.eu – Radio Stations in Istanbul". Radiomap.eu. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
^ Sarah Guberti Bassett (1991). "The Antiquities in the Hippodrome of Constantinople". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 45. Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University: 87–96. doi:10.2307/1291694. JSTOR 1291694. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
^ "Uefa Cup gets new name in revamp". BBC. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
^ "UEFA Cup to become UEFA Europa League". uefa.com. Retrieved 26 September 2008. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Istanbul 2020 will be "platform for change" promises Turkish Prime Minister | 2020 Summer Olympics". insidethegames.biz. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^ "History". Istanbul University. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "University Profile: Istanbul Technical University, Turkey". Board of European Students of Technology. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "State Universities". The Turkish Council of Higher Education. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "General Information". Ankara: Istanbul Medeniyet University. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ Doğramacı, İhsan. "Private Versus Public Universities: The Turkish Experience" (DOC). Ankara: International Conference on Higher Education. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "Private Universities". The Turkish Council of Higher Education. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "2007 Yılına Ait Veriler" (in Turkish). Governorship of Istanbul. Archived from the original on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Historique" (in French). Galatasaray University. Retrieved 30 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı Anadolu Liseleri Yönetmeliği" (in Turkish). Ministry of Education. 5 November 1999. Retrieved 30 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "The History Of Darüşşafaka". Darüşşafaka High School. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "Academic Life". Darüşşafaka High School. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "Kabataş Erkek Lisesi" (in Turkey). Kabataş Erkek Lisesi. Retrieved 31 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
^ "KAL Uygulamalı Yabancı Dil Laboratuvarı" (in Turkish). Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi. Retrieved 31 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b "Istanbul and the History of Water in Istanbul". Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2006.
^ Tigrek & Kibaroğlu 2011, pp. 33–4
^ "İSKİ Administration". Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Silahtarağa Power Plant". SantralIstanbul. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Short History of Electrical Energy in Turkey". Turkish Electricity Transmission Company. 2001. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ Kıraç, Kaptı & Ökten 2003, pp. 1239–41, 47
^ "About". SantralIstanbul. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "About Us | Brief History". The Post and Telegraph Organization. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ Özendes 1987, p. 14
^ ^a ^b Masters & Ágoston 2009, p. 557
^ Shaw & Shaw 1977, p. 230
^ ^a ^b "About Türk Telekom: History". Türk Telekom. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ Sanal 2011, p. 85
^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 197
^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 198
^ Connell 2010, pp. 52–3
^ Papathanassis 2011, p. 63
^ ^a ^b "Istanbul Overview" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
^ Münir, Metin (18 February 2012). "The Usual Turkish Style in the Second Bid for Third Bridge". Hürriyet. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
^ "The Golden Horn" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
^ Kazokoglu 2009
^ ^a ^b ^c "Chronological History of IETT". Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
^ "T1 Bağcılar–Kabataş Hattı" (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Tunnel". Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel. Retrieved 3 April 2012. (Note: It is apparent this is merely a machine translation of the original Turkish page.)
^ "F1 Taksim–Kabataş Funikuler" (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "M1 Aksaray–Havalimani Hattı" (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "T4 Habibler–Topkapı Hattı" (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "M2 Şişhane–Darüşşafaka Hattı" (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Taksim–Yenikapı Metro Hattı" (in Turkish). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Kadıköy–Kartal Metro Hattı" (in Turkish). Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Turkey: Connecting Continents". Economic Updates. Oxford Business Group. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ Çelik 1993, p. 74
^ "Fast Ferries". İDO. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Seabuses". İDO. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Interactive Map of Timetables | Inner-City Lines". İDO. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Interactive Map of Timetables | Inter-City Lines". İDO. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Public Transportation in Istanbul". Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Metrobus". Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 112
^ Cavusoglu, Omer (2010). "Summary on the Haydarpasa Case Study Site" (PDF). Cities Programme. London School of Economics. Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^ "Connections to Europe". Turkish State Railways. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Bölgesel Yolcu Trenleri" (in Turkish). Turkish State Railways. Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Haydarpasa Train Station". Emporis GmbH. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ Head, Jonathan (16 February 2010). "Iraq – Turkey railway link re-opens". BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Transports to Middle-Eastern Countries". Turkish National Railways. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b Akay, Latifa (5 February 2012). "2012 Sees End of Line for Haydarpaşa Station". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "İstanbul Otogarı" (in Turkish). Avrasya Terminal İşletmeleri A.Ş. (Eurasian Terminal Management, Inc.). Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Eurolines Germany–Deutsche Touring GmbH–Europabus". Touring GmbH. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Year to Date Passenger Traffic Dec-11". Airports Council International. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Yolcu Trafiği (Gelen-Giden)" (pdf) (in Turkish). General Directorate of State Airports Authority. Retrieved 3 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Sabiha Gökçen Named World's Fastest Growing Airport". Today's Zaman. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2012.

Bibliography

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Atıl, Esin (1987). The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. ISBN 978-0-89468-098-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Barnes, Timothy David (1981). Constantine and Eusebius. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-16531-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Baynes, Norman H. (1949). Baynes, Norman H.; Moss, Henry S. L. B. (eds.). Byzantium: An Introduction to East Roman Civilization. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 1-4067-5659-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Bertram, Carol (2008). Imagining the Turkish House: Collective Visions of Home. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71826-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Borrego, Carlos; Schayes, Guy (2002). Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XV. New York: Kluwer Academic. ISBN 0-306-47294-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Boyar, Ebru; Fleet, Kate (2010). A Social History of Ottoman Istanbul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-13623-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Browning, Robert (1969). Medieval and Modern Greek. London: Hutchinson University Library. pp. 33–34. ISBN 090996001. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Chandler, Tertius; Fox, Gerald (1974). "3000 Years of Urban Growth". London: Academic Press. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Çelik, Zeynep (1993). The Remaking of Istanbul: Portrait of an Ottoman City in the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08239-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Chamber of Architects of Turkey (2005). Architectural Guide to Istanbul: Galata. Vol. 2. Istanbul: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Istanbul Metropolitan Branch. ISBN 975-395-895-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Chamber of Architects of Turkey (2006a). Architectural Guide to Istanbul: Historic Peninsula. Vol. 1. Istanbul: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Istanbul Metropolitan Branch. ISBN 975-395-899-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Chamber of Architects of Turkey (2006b). Architectural Guide to Istanbul: Bosphorus & The Asian Side. Vol. 3. Istanbul: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Istanbul Metropolitan Branch. ISBN 975-395-897-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Chamber of Architects of Turkey (2006c). Architectural Guide to Istanbul: Modern & Contemporary. Vol. 4. Istanbul: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Istanbul Metropolitan Branch. ISBN 975-395-896-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Connell, John (2010). Medical Tourism. CAB Books. Wallingford, Eng.: CABI. ISBN 1845936604. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
De Amicis, Edmondo (1881). Costantinopoli (in Italian). Milan: Fratelli Treves. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
De Souza, Philip (2003). The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 B.C. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-96854-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Dwight, Harrison G. (1915). "Constantinople: Old and New". C. Scribner's Sons. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Eisma, Doeke (1995). Climate Change: Impact on Coastal Habitation. CRC Press. ISBN 0-87371-301-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Erkök, Fatma (2008). "Istanbul: Major Transformations as a Water City". In Feyen, Jan; Shannon, Kelly; Neville, Matthew (eds.). Water and Urban Development Paradigms: Towards an Integration of Engineering, Design and Management Approaches (illustrated ed.). London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-48334-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Evans, James A. S. (2000). The Age of Justinian: The Circumstances of Imperial Power (illustrated, reprint ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-23726-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Freely, John (1996). Istanbul: The Imperial City. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 0670859729. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Gautier, Théophile (2008) [1851]. Constantinople (in French). Paris: Editions Bartillat. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Grant, Michael (1996). The Severans: The Changed Roman Empire. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-12772-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Gregory, Timothy E. (2010). A History of Byzantium. Oxford: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 1-4051-8471-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Haldon, John F. (2002). Byzantium: A History (2nd ed.). Stroud, Eng.: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3472-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Haldon, John F. (2003). Byzantium at War, AD 600–1453 (illustrated ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-96861-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Harter, Jim (2005). World Railways of the Nineteenth Century: A Pictorial History in Victorian Engravings (illustrated ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8089-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Holt, Peter M.; Lambton, Ann K. S.; Lewis, Bernard, eds. (1977). The Cambridge History of Islam. Vol. 1 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29135-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Houston, Christopher (2008). Kurdistan: Crafting of National Selves. Oxford: Berg. ISBN 1845202686. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Isaac, Benjamin H. (1986). The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest (illustrated ed.). Leiden, the Netherlands: BRILL. ISBN 90-04-06921-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Karpat, Kemal H. (1976). The Gecekondu: Rural Migration and Urbanization (illustrated ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20954-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Kazokoglu, Ahmet Rifat (2009). "Istanbul Transfers from AKBIL to the Istanbulkart". Public Transport International. 56 (4). International Association of Public Transport: 40–1. ISSN 1016-796X. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Kelkit, Abdullah; Ak, Tutku (2006). "Coastal Land Use Planning: A Case Study of Kordonboyu (Çanakkale)". Journal of Coastal Research. 22 (4): 951–7. doi:10.2112/03-0137.1. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Keyder, Çağlar (1999). Istanbul: Between the Global and the Local. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8476-9495-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Kıraç, Binnur; Kaptı, Mevlüde; Ökten, Sadettin (2003). Huerta, Santiago (ed.). "The Old Power Plant at Silahtaraga in Istanbul" (PDF). Proceedings of the First International Congress on Construction History. Madrid: Instituto Juan de Herrera: 1239–48. Retrieved 31 March 2012. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |day= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Landau, Jacob M. (1984). Atatürk and the Modernization of Turkey. Leiden, the Netherlands: E.J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-07070-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Lewis, Bernard (1963). Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire (illustrated, reprint ed.). Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-1060-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Limberis, Vasiliki (1994). Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian Constantinople. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09677-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Lister, Richard P. (1979). The Travels of Herodotus. London: Gordon & Cremonesi. ISBN 0-86033-081-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Madden, Thomas F., ed. (2004). Crusades: The Illustrated History. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan. ISBN 0-472-11463-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Mamboury, Ernest (1953). The Tourists' Istanbul. Istanbul: Çituri Biraderler Basımevi. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Masters, Bruce Alan; Ágoston, Gábor (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 1438110251. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Odabaşı, Attila; Aksu, Celal; Akgiray, Vedat (2004). "The Statistical Evolution of Prices on the Istanbul Stock Exchange". The European Journal of Finance. 10: 510–25. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Oxford Business Group (2009). The Report: Turkey 2009. Oxford: Oxford Business Group. ISBN 1902339134. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Özendes, Engin (1987). Photography in the Ottoman Empire, 1839-1919. Istanbul: Haşet Kitabevi. ISBN 9754704511. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Papathanassis, Alexis (2011). The Long Tail of Tourism: Holiday Niches and Their Impact on Mainstream Tourism. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 3834930628. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Parsons, Tom; Toda, Shinji; Stein, Ross S.; Barka, Aykut; Dieterich, James H. (2000). "Heightened Odds of Large Earthquakes Near Istanbul: An Interaction-Based Probability Calculation". Science. 288 (5466): 661–5. doi:10.1126/science.288.5466.661. PMID 10784447. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Reinert, Stephen W. (2002). "Fragmentation (1204–1453)". In Mango, Cyril (ed.). The Oxford History of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-814098-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Room, Adrian (2006). Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-2248-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Shaw, Stanford J.; Shaw, Ezel K. (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29166-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Smith, William (1897). "A Smaller History of Greece, From the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest". New York: Harper & Brothers. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Tigrek, Sahnaz; Kibaroğlu, Ayșegül (2011). "Strategic Role of Water Resources for Turkey". In Kibaroğlu, Ayșegül; Scheumann, Waltina; Kramer, Annika (eds.). Turkey's Water Policy: National Frameworks and International Cooperation. London & New York: Springer. ISBN 3642196357. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Sanal, Aslihan (2011). Fischer, Michael M. J.; Dumit, Joseph (eds.). New Organs Within Us: Transplants and the Moral Economy. Experimental Futures (illustrated ed.). Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Duke University Press. ISBN 0822349124. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Turan, Neyran (2010). "Towards an Ecological Urbanism for Istanbul". In Sorensen, André; Okata, Junichiro (eds.). Megacities: Urban Form, Governance, and Sustainability. Library for Sustainable Urban Regeneration. London & New York: Springer. pp. 223–42. ISBN 4-431-99266-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
WCTR Society; Unʼyu Seisaku Kenkyū Kikō (2004). Urban Transport and the Environment: An International Perspective. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 0-08-044512-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Wedel, Heidi (2000). Ibrahim, Ferhad; Gürbey, Gülistan (eds.). The Kurdish Conflict in Turkey. Berlin: LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 181–93. ISBN 3825847446. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Ottomans: Dissolving Images. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-016879-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

41°00′44″N 28°58′34″E / 41.01224°N 28.976018°E / 41.01224; 28.976018

Template:Link FA Template:Link GA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA ak:Istanbul

[byz-date-1] The foundation of Byzantion (Byzantium) is sometimes, especially in encyclopedic or other tertiary sources, placed firmly in 667 BC. However, historians have disputed the precise year the city was founded. Commonly cited is the work of 5th-century-BC historian Herodotus, which says the city was founded seventeen years after the city of Chalcedon,^[9] which came into existence around 685 BC. However, Eusebius of Caesarea, while concurring with 685 BC as the year Chalcedon was founded, places Byzantion's establishment in 659 BC.^[10] Among more modern historians, Carl Roebuck proposed the 640s BC^[11] while others have suggested even later. Further, the foundation date of Chalcedon is itself subject to some debate; while many sources place it in 685 BC,^[12] others put it in 675 BC^[13] or even 639 BC (with Byzantion's establishment placed in 619 BC).^[10] As such, some sources have opted to refer to Byzantium's foundation as simply located in the 7th century BC.

[city-area-2] Sources have provided conflicting figures on the area of Istanbul. The most authoritative source on this figure ought to be the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI), but the English version of its website suggests a few figures for this area. One page states that "Each MM is sub-divided into District Municipalities ("DM") of which there are 27 in Istanbul" [emphasis added] with a total area of 1,538.9 square kilometers (594.2 sq mi).^[66] However, the Municipal History page appears to be the most explicit and most updated, saying that in 2004, "Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's jurisdiction was enlarged to cover all the area within the provincial limits". It also states a 2008 law merged the Eminönü district into the Fatih district (a point that is not reflected in the previous source) and increased the number of districts in Istanbul to thirty-nine.^[67] That total area, as corroborated on the Turkish version of the MMI website,^[68] and a recently updated Jurisdiction page on the English site^[69] is 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi).

[39] The end of Byzantium Empire is universally regarded as 1453, despite the temporary survival of remnants in Morea and Trebizond.^[36]

[3] ttp://www.nationmaster.com/country/tu-turkey/geo-geography

[turkstat-curr-4] Cite error: The named reference turkstat-curr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Britannica, Istanbul:When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.

[6] "The World According to GaWC 2010". GaWC Research Network. Retrieved 12 March 2012.

[7] "Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality: Districts of Istanbul". Ibb.gov.tr. Retrieved 28 May 2009. ^{[dead link]}

[8] "UNESCO | Historic Areas of Istanbul". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 28 May 2009.

[9] "ACES> Home". ACES. Retrieved 5 December 2010.

[10] "Media". Olympic.org. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

[11] Herodotus Histories 4.144, translated in De Sélincourt 2002, p. 288

[isa199-12] Isaac 1986, p. 199

[13] Roebuck 1959, p. 114, also as mentioned in Isaac 1986, p. 199

[lis35-14] Lister 1979, p. 35

[15] Freely 1998, p. 10

[eva16-16] Evans 2000, p. 16

[roo177-17] Room 2006, pp. 177

[18] Gregory 2010, pp. 62–3

[19] Gautier, 1851 & passim

[20] De Amicis, 1881 & passim

[21] Wheatcroft 1995, pp. 138–9

[lewix-22] Lewis 1963, p. ix

[23] Robinson, Richard D. (1965). The First Turkish Republic: A Case Study in National Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[Browning33-24] Browning 1969, pp. 33–34

[25] Dwight 1915, p. 4

[26] Rainsford, Sarah (10 January 2009). "Istanbul's ancient past unearthed". BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2010.

[27] Alkım & Metzger 1969, p. 78

[28] De Souza 2003, p. 88

[29] Smith 1897, p. 287

[30] Grant 1996, pp. 8–10

[31] Limberis 1994, pp. 11–2

[32] Barnes 1981, p. 77

[33] Barnes 1981, p. 212

[ba222-34] Barnes 1981, p. 222

[gr63-35] Gregory 2010, p. 63

[ev217-36] Evans 2000, p. 217

[37] Haldon 2002, p. 9

[38] Kazhdan 1991, p. 344

[40] Gregory 2010, pp. 324–9

[41] Gregory 2010, pp. 330–3

[42] Gregory 2010, p. 340

[43] Gregory 2010, pp. 341–2

[44] Madden 2004, p. 113

[chfo374-45] Chandler & Fox 1974, p. 374

[46] Reinert 2002, pp. 258–60

[47] Baynes 1949, p. 47

[48] Gregory 2010, pp. 394–9

[49] Haldon 2003, p. 89

[le6-50] Lewis 1963, p. 6

[ma98-51] Mamboury (1953), p. 98

[ma99-52] Mamboury (1953), p. 99

[53] Holt, Lambton & Lewis 1977, pp. 306–7

[54] Chandler & Fox 1974, p. 376

[holale307-55] Holt, Lambton & Lewis 1977, pp. 307

[56] Atıl 1987

[57] Chandler & Fox 1974, p. 377

[58] Boyar & Fleet 2010, p. 97

[59] Shaw & Shaw 1977, p. 55

[60] Çelik 1993, pp. 87–9

[ha251-61] Harter 2005, p. 251

[62] Çelik 1993, pp. 96–8

[63] Shaw & Shaw 1977, pp. 230, 287, 306

[64] Çelik 1993, p. 31

[65] Landau 1984, p. 50

[66] Keyder 1999, pp. 11–2, 34–6

[birand-67] Birand, Mehmet Ali. “The shame of 6–7 Sept. is always with us,” Turkish Daily News, 7 September 2005.

[68] Erkök 2008, p. 178

[mmi-districts-69] "Districts". Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 21 December 2011.

[mmi-history-70] "History of Local Governance in Istanbul". Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 21 December 2011.

[71] "İstanbul İl ve İlçe Alan Bilgileri" (in Turkish). Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 20 June 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

[mmi-jurisdiction-72] "Jurisdiction". Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 21 December 2011.

[topo-73] "The Topography of İstanbul". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Retrieved 13 June 2010.

[74] "Istanbul from a Bird's Eye View". Governorship of Istanbul. Retrieved 13 June 2010.

[dis-awaits-75] Revkin, Andrew C. (24 February 2010). "Disaster Awaits Cities in Earthquake Zones". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2010.

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[28]

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[32]

[33]

[34]

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[38]

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[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

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[77]

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@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 }}
-'''Istanbul''' (historically ''[[Byzantium]]'' and ''[[Constantinople]]''),<ref>[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9368294/Istanbul Britannica, Istanbul]:''When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.''</ref> is [[List of cities in Turkey|the largest city]] of [[Turkey]], home to a population of 8,803,468 in 2010. A [[megacity]], it is the nation's cultural, economic, and financial center, ranked as an [[World City|alpha(-) world city]] by [[GaWC]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2010t.html|title=The World According to GaWC 2010|publisher=GaWC Research Network |accessdate=12 March 2012}}</ref>
+'''Istanbul''' (historically ''[[Byzantium]]'' and ''[[Constantinople]]''),<ref>[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9368294/Istanbul Britannica, Istanbul]:''When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.''</ref> is [[List of cities in Turkey|the largest city]] of [[Turkey]], home to a population of 8,803,468 in 2001. A [[megacity]], it is the nation's cultural, economic, and financial center, ranked as an [[World City|alpha(-) world city]] by [[GaWC]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2010t.html|title=The World According to GaWC 2010|publisher=GaWC Research Network |accessdate=12 March 2012}}</ref>
 Located in the northwest of the country, it lies on the [[Bosphorus]] [[strait]] and encompasses the natural harbour known as the [[Golden Horn]]. Extending both on the European ([[Thrace]]) and Asian ([[Anatolia]]) sides of the strait, Istanbul is the only city in the world situated on two [[continent]]s. It covers 39 districts of [[Istanbul Province|Istanbul province]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibb.gov.tr/en-US/Organisation/AuthorityArea/Pages/Districts.aspx |title=Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality: Districts of Istanbul |publisher=Ibb.gov.tr |accessdate=28 May 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>  The greater Istanbul [[metropolitan area]] held 18% of Turkey's population in 2010.  Its 13.26&nbsp;million residents<ref name="turkstat-curr"/> rank it third in Europe after those of [[London metropolitan area|London]] and [[Moscow metropolitan area|Moscow]].