HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The distinguishing features of Istanbul are its geographic location, unique natural beauty, and the historical and cultural heritage that has come to symbolize the city. Dramatically located on the Bosphorus peninsula and Haliç (Golden Horn) in the northwest of the country, it is the only city in the world to straddle two continents: Europe and Asia. With this unique location, between the Balkans and Anatolia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Istanbul embraces both West and East. The meeting point of European culture and traditional eastern values, Istanbul has been the capital of three magnificent empires: Roman (330-395), Byzantine (395-1453), and Ottoman (1453-1922). The city has been known by a number of names. Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul are the most widely known, but there are many others such as Augusta Antonina, Second Rome (or New Rome), Kostantiniyye and Islambol. The Byzantine Empire used expressions such as “The Great City”, “City of Emperors” and in Ottoman times its court was known, most romantically, as “The Sublime Porte”. Istanbul was unaffected when Ankara was made the capital of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923 and it remains the biggest and richest financial and cultural centre and the most populous city in Turkey.
The foundations of today's city were laid in the 7th century BC. It was rebuilt and made the capital city of Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD. For the ensuing sixteen centuries, the city retained its position as capital, first of Eastern Rome, then the Byzantine Empire, and finally the Ottoman Empire. What began as one of the most cherished centres of Christianity under the reign of Emperor Constantine, evolved into the most important centre in the Islamic world following the conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Istanbul’s location has ensured the city always played a key role in history. From the beginning, it enjoyed control of both the east-west road from Europe to Asia Minor and the sea connection from north to south. At the crossroads of history, Istanbul has for centuries attracted the interests of emperors, armies, adventurers, merchants, philosophers, artists and great religious figures. The city has always been of enormous value to many nations and some commentators have written that to possess Istanbul is to possess the whole world.
Istanbul is often referred as “the city of seven hills” because its historical part is located on seven hills and each one is often represented by a mosque. Istanbul has spread beyond these hills to become one of the most vivid and active cities in the world, where many international cultural and political organizations choose to hold their meetings every year. The heritage of Istanbul is being discovered by more and more people every day. The city’s historic areas were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. Now Istanbul is to be joint European Capital of Culture for 2010.
This merger of rich cultural traditions reveals itself in the historical monuments of the city: Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, Süleymaniye Mosque, the Blue Mosque, the Land Walls, Galata Tower, and many more. The mosques, churches and synagogues represent a singular combination of cultural heritage and are witness to the harmonious religious heritage of the city. Step by step, the treasures of Istanbul reveal themselves around nearly every corner; the voyage of Istanbul never ends. This is, perhaps, one of the reasons why the city continues to enchant and inspire writers and artists from all over the world. As Alphonse de Lamartine said, “If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.”