Istanbul City, Turkey. Most populous city in Turkey and the country’s economic, cultural and historic center.
It is a transcontinental city in Eurasia.
Its metropolitan area has a total population of more than 15 million people. It is one of the largest cities in the world in terms of population.
The city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
More than 12 million tourists went to the city in 2015. It was named European capital of culture.
It is the world’s fifth most popular tourist destination.
The city’s biggest attraction is its historic center which is partially UNESCO’s world heritage site.
Its cultural and entertainment hub is across the city’s natural habor, the Golden horn.
Since it is a global city, it hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets.
It accounts for more than a quarter of the country’s GDP.
Things to Do and Not to Do in Istanbul
- Don’t take the tram in Istiklal. It is usually jam packed. Instead, for better experience, it is advisable always to walk on foot.
- Don’t go shopping at the streets of Istiklal. The prices are generally high. Instead, go shopping at bigger malls where they have friendly prices.
- Don’t get tempted to buy everything that you see. Instead, control yourself from buying every random thing that you see to avoid overspending on unwanted products.
- Avoid eating at or close to touristic places. They are way too expensive. Instead, go and eat at a local restaurant.
- Don’ bother with taxis.Traffic is generally slow. Instead, you can walk to your place if it is near. You can also go for the metro-buses, which are crowded but faster.
- Do not expect drivers to stop and pave way for you. Instead, give way to cars, trucks and motorcycles.
- Don’t show your wealth. You risk falling victim to theft and crime. Instead, be watchful within and around tourist places and don’t show off your wealth.
- Do not wear flimsy sundress to a mosque. Instead, dress properly when you visit religious places. Wear dresses that cover your legs, shoulders and chest.
10 MOST INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ISTANBUL
- Istanbul city is the only pan-continental city in the world on two continents. Europe and Asia.
- Under the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul was well known for having more than 1400 public toilets.
- 99% of Istanbul’s population is Muslim.
- Tulips, the icon of Holland, originated in Istanbul and were sent from Istanbul to the Netherlands.
- The Grand Bazaar is the biggest old covered bazaar in the world, with over 3,000 shops of all kinds.
- Sultanahmet or the Old City is where most of the well-known historic sights of Istanbul are situated.
- The Galata Tower, built in 1348 to house prisoners of war, now offers a 360-degree observing platform of the city.
- Istanbul was the European Cultural Capital City in 2010, but has never hosted the Olympics.
- Istanbul is home to the most mosque in Turkey. It has 3,113 mosques.
- It has been the capital of three great empires – Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. However the modern day capital of Turkey is Ankara.
History
Climate
Geography
8 MOST POPULAR THINGS IN ISTANBUL
#1 - SULTANAHMET SQUARE
As Istanbul's chronicled center, the Sultanahmet Square puts you directly in the focal point of the city's generally noticeable and recorded attractions. To be at the focal point, all things considered, it is suggested you book your settlement in the Sultanahmet neighborhood. Pillars and wellsprings decorate the recreation center, and the square has leftovers of an old hippodrome. From here you can without much of a stretch view 2 of the city's most terrific milestones to its north and south. These are the Hagia Sophia, a popular sixth-century mosque that is currently a historical center, and the namesake Sultanahmet Mosque, which is likewise affectionately alluded to as the Blue Mosque.
#2 - THE GRAND BAZAAR
Istanbul outskirts the limited Bosporus Strait where the waters of the Black Sea meet the inland Sea of Marmara. It was generally a primary concern of appearance for exchange ships. You can meander the confined back streets of the secured Grand Bazaar to see the city's bright business exercises perfectly healthy. This colossal market involves a system of indoor souks (littler commercial centers) and paths fixed with sellers. They sell everything from floor coverings and cowhide things to gems and knickknacks, including the regularly looked for after nazar stink eye decorations.
#3 - THEODOSIAN WALLS
The Walls of Constantinople is a verifiable milestone in Istanbul that additionally passes by various names, for example, the Theodosian Walls, the Istanbul City Walls, and the Historic dividers of Topkapi. These are a progression of stonewalled strongholds that have encircled Istanbul since its establishment as Constantinople by Constantine the Great. You can at present observe really quite a bit of these medieval fringes with the greater part of its areas and towers unblemished. The dividers are encircled by parks with spaces where your children can play.
#4 - HAGIA SOPHIA
This is one of the sublime tourist spots in Istanbul's chronicled focus. The Hagia Sophia, whose name means "sacred intelligence", was worked by the East Roman Empire in the sixth century. It was then changed over into a mosque and braced observing Mehmed the Conqueror's standard in 1453. You can respect this engineering miracle's marbled structure, just as its marvelous insides. It highlights calligraphic boards and bronze lights, and the majority of its dividers are shrouded in wonderful mosaics made of gold, silver, and bright stones.
#5 - THE MAIDEN'S TOWER
This beacon sits on a small islet in the Bosporus Strait, which you can reach on a 15-minute vessel ride from the docks in Üsküdar. It dates to the twelfth century and is saturated with a blend of legends, especially of a princess who met her deplorable destiny, henceforth its moniker. Move up to the highest floor of the beacon, and you can appreciate a hot mug of espresso or tea at the housetop bistro with astounding perspectives on both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.
#6 - HODJAPASHA CULTURAL CENTER
For a sample of Turkey's convention in performing expressions, you can make a beeline for this social community that is close to Istanbul's eminent focal tourist spots, for example, the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. The Hodjapasha Cultural Center is housed in a previous fifteenth-century hammam, but at this point includes strikingly embellished insides under its high vault roof, where dynamic move exhibitions normally occur. Among the beguiling moves are the well-known spinning dervishes, which is a mysterious custom of the Mevlevi Order, normally joined by Rumi sonnets.
#7 - BLUE MOSQUE (SULTAN AHMET CAMII)
King Ahmet I's excellent engineering blessing to his capital was this lovely mosque, ordinarily known as the Blue Mosque today. Worked somewhere in the range of 1609 and 1616, the mosque caused a furor all through the Muslim world when it was done, as it had six minarets (a similar number as the Great Mosque of Mecca). A seventh minaret was in the end skilled to Mecca to stem the difference.
#8 - HIPPODROME
The old Hippodrome was started by Septimius Severus in AD 203 and finished by Constantine the Great in AD 330. This was the focal point of Byzantine's open life and the area of awe-inspiring games and chariot races yet in addition factional clashes. Today, there isn't a great part of the Hippodrome left to see, aside from a little segment of the display dividers on the southern side, however, the At Meydani (park), which presently remains on the site is home to an assortment of landmarks.