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Istanbul
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Istanbul (Turkish spelling: Istanbul) is the largest city
in Turkey. Until 1930 this city was commonly known as Constantinople
by westerners; some writings named it Stamboul, especially
in the 19th century. In Classical Antiquity it was known as
Byzantium or Byzantion.
Yeni Camii (the New Mosque), one of the landmarks of IstanbulWith
a population of between 11 and 15 million people, Istanbul
is the most populous city of Turkey and by some counts one
of the largest cities in Europe, although the city straddles
the Bosphorus Strait. The city is also the administrative
capital of the Istanbul Province.
Founded by the Roman emperor Constantine on the site of the
ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, and called Constantinople
after him, it became the eastern capital of the Roman Empire
and later the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fall
of Constantinople in 1453 it became part of and soon capital
of the Ottoman Empire. Before the conquest Turks called the
city Istanbul, but officially used the name Qustantaniyyeh
(????????), that means "City of Constantine" in
Arabic. Only on March 28, 1930, was the city officially renamed
Istanbul.
The old city is mainly located on the Bosporus strait, which
separates Europe from Asia and the Black Sea from the Marmara
Sea. However, the modern city is much larger and covers both
European and Asian sides of the Bosporus. Famous tourist destinations
include Sultanahmet, Kilyos, Sariyer, Eyüp and Taksim
on the European side, and Beykoz, Sile, Üsküdar,
Kadiköy and Adalar (the Prince's Islands) on the Asian
side. Although Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey, it is
still arguably the most important city to Turkish industry,
commerce and culture and the most important import and export
center.
Contents [showhide]
1 Etymology of the name
2 History
3 Places to visit
4 Education
5 Airports
6 Districts
7 See also
Etymology of the name
There are two mainstream hypotheses about the etymology of
the name Istanbul: the first states that the name Istanbul
comes from the Greek words eis tin Poli meaning "at the
City" (the City/Polis being Constantinoupolis), while
the second suggests that the name is merely a Turkish contraction
of Constantinoupolis. The sound rendered by "i"
is prepended by the virtue of the language. Many Turkic languages
forbid certain combinations of consonants at the beginning
of the word, hence certain borrowed words acquire a vowel
chosen according to the rule of vowel harmony. In this way
Smyrna became Izmir and Nicaea became Iznik, just as "machine"
became "amashina" in e.g., Abkhaz language. The
intermediate form Stamboul was commonly used in the 19th century.
History
(For early history, see Byzantium and Constantinople.)
Places to visit
Topkapi Palace
Hagia Sophia
The Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
The Spice Bazaar, Istanbul
Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque
Suleiman Mosque
Istiklal Avenue
Basilica Cistern
Bulgarian St Stephen Church (also known as Bulgarian Iron
Church)
Golden Horn
Galata Tower
Prince's Islands
Dolmabahçe Palace
Taksim Square
Beyoglu
Bebek fish restaurants
Education
Bahcesehir University
Bogazici University
Fatih University
Isik University
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul University
Koc University
Marmara University
Robert College
Sabanci University
Yeditepe University
Yildiz Technical University
Airports
Ataturk International Airport (IST)
Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW)
Districts
Adalar Avcilar Bagcilar Bahcelievler Bahcesehir Bakirkoy Bayrampasa
Besiktas Beyoglu Buyukcekmece Beykoz Catalca Eminonu Esenler
Fatih Gaziosmanpasa Gungoren Kadikoy Kagithane Kartal Kucukcekmece
Maltepe Pendik Sariyer Sultanbeyli Sile Sisli Tuzla Umraniye
Uskudar Zeytinburnu
See also
Bosporus Bridge
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge
Fenerbahçe
Galata Bridge
Galatasaray
Istanbul cymbals
List of hospitals in Istanbul
Tünel
This article is licensed
under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the
Wikipedia
article "istanbul'.
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