Visit Istanbul
Turkey’s cultural capital lays bare its metamorphosis from roman conquest to modern metropolis.
Dissected by the glittering Bosphorus strait, separating Europe from Asia, Istanbul is unlike any other city in the world a tale of two continents. But its charm is less about East meets West, than new colliding with old.
Founded by the Greeks in the 7th century, Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium, was conquered by the Persians, Athenians, Spartans and Macedonians. It later became the capital of the Roman Empire, when Emperor Constantine rechristened it Constantinople, and remained the capital of the Byzantine Empire for more than 1,000 years, before falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Luring conquerors and commoners alike, Istanbul’s geographic position, straddling two continents, wasn’t its only draw the city also marked the end of the Silk Road. Many a passing merchant loved it so much they decided to stay, weaving a rich cultural tapestry that still exists today, marked into its architectural landscape.
Thanks to its storied past, Istanbul is a living, open-air museum, studded with relics of the great powers who ruled over it from Roman waterways to extravagant Ottoman estates. This patchwork of historical gems is interrupted with welcome bursts of modern life contemporary art museums, nightclubs and classic mansions with sleek, glass-fronted extensions. The old quarter’s fabled skyline of minarets and domes still sits atop a tangle of narrow, cobbled streets that echo with the muezzin’s five daily calls to prayer.
The vestiges of Istanbul’s ancient past are mainly dotted around the Sultanahmet district. The opulent pavilions of Topkapı Palace, the administrative seat of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years, stretches behind the magnificent Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish). Built by Byzantine emperor Justinian, the basilica was consecrated as a church in 537, before Mehmet II converted it into a mosque in 1453. Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey, later pronounced it a museum.
Gazing across Sultanahmet Square is the iconic Blue Mosque, festooned with 20,000 handcrafted Iznik tiles famously created from quartz rather than traditional clay. A short stroll northwest, Süleymaniye Mosque crowns one of Istanbul’s seven hills, towering over the medieval Grand Bazaar and its labyrinthine maze of coffee shops and stalls tended by polo-shirt-clad men, balancing spices and loose-leaf tea on brass scales used by their fathers and grandfathers before them.
Just a cheap ferry ride across the Golden Horn, the medieval Galata Tower watches over‘new’ Istanbul, and the vibrant entertainment districts of Karaköy, Beyoglu and its namesake Galata replete with coffee shops, galleries, rooftop bars and boutiques. With cuisine as diverse as its heritage, Istanbul is a food-lover’s paradise. smoky succulent kebabs, freshly caught fish and syrupy desserts are best washed down with raki. the national drink of aniseed brandy. or local wine.
For those whotire of city life. the car-free princes islands. once a safe haven for exiled royal membrs, are just a 20-kilometre(12-mile) boat trip away. here sandy coves and pine forests converge. as horse-drawn carriages with leather seats trundle past seafood restaurants strung along the harbour. hawking the day's catch a great opportunity to relax.