Istanbul Cityscape
28 January 2010 ThursdayIstanbul Cityscape
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul; historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other names of Istanbul) is the largest city and cultural and financial center of Turkey. It is the largest city proper and second largest metropolitan area in Europe, and the fourth largest city proper in the world. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the Europe (Thrace) and on the Asia (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.
