ISTANBUL GUIDE 14
Sultanahmet-Old City: Essentially Constantinople of Roman, Byzantine, and much of the Ottoman period, this is w<strong>here</strong> most of the famous historical sights of Istanbul are located Galata: Housing many of the nightlife venues of the city, this district which includes Beyoğlu, Istiklal Street, and Taksim Square has also its own share of sights and accommodation New City: Main business district of the city, also home to many modern shopping malls, and districts such as Elmadağ, Nişantaşı, and Etiler Bosphorus: European bank of Bosphorus that is dotted by numerous palaces, parks, water-front mansions, and bohemian neighborhoods Golden Horn: Banks of Golden Horn, the estuary that separates European Side into distinctive districts. Eyüp with an Ottoman ambience is located <strong>here</strong> Princes’ Islands: An excellent getaway from the city, made up of an archipelago of nine car-free islands— some of them small, some of them big—with splendid wooden mansions, verdant pine forests and nice views—both on the islands themselves, and also on the way t<strong>here</strong> Asian Side: Eastern half of Istanbul, with lovely neighborhoods at the Marmara and Bosphorus coasts. Western Suburbs: Western chunk of the European Side Expanding the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium by the order of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, the imperial city ofConstantinople was for nearly a thousand years the last remaining outpost of the Roman (later termed Eastern Roman or Byzantine) Empire. It was finally conquered by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II on May 29th, 1453, an event sometimes used to mark the end of the Middle Ages. It was the nerve center for military campaigns that were to enlarge the Ottoman Empire dramatically. By the mid 1500s, Istanbul, with a population of almost half a million, was a Istanbul is divided in three by the north-south Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Bogazi), the dividing line between Europe and Asia, the estuary of the Golden Horn (Haliç) bisecting the western part and the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) forming a boundary to the south. Most sights are concentrated in the old city on the peninsula History Orientation 15 major cultural, political, and commercial center. Ottoman rule continued until it was defeated in WWI and Istanbul was occupied by the allies. When the Republic of Turkey was born in 1923 after the War of Independence, Kemal Atatürk moved its capital to the city of Ankara. However, Istanbul has continued to expand dramatically; today its population is approximately 14 million and increases at an estimated 400,000 immigrants per year. Industry has expanded even as tourism has grown. It continues to be a city that creates its own history at the intersection w<strong>here</strong> both continents meet. of Sultanahmet, to the west of the Bosphorus between the Horn and the Sea. Across the Horn to the north are Galata, Beyoğlu and Taksim, the heart of modern Istanbul, while Kadıköy is the major district on the comparatively less-visited Anatolian side of the city. The Black Sea forms the northern boundary of Istanbul.
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