Encyclopedia of General Culture: Istanbul

Istanbul[EXTRACT]

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The location of Istanbul Province

Maiden Tower and Historical Peninsula of Istanbul

Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, and arguably the most important. It is located on the Bosporus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn (Turkish: Haliç), in the northwest of the country. It is officially located in both Europe and Asia, but is generally considered European, perhaps because its predecessor, Constantinople, was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Its 2000 Census population is 8,803,468 (city proper) and 10,018,735 (metropolitan area), making it, by some counts, one of the largest cities in Europe. Census bureau estimate of 7/20/2005 is 11,322,000 for the city proper. İstanbul is located at 41° N 28° E, and is the capital of İstanbul Province.

Originally founded by Greek colonists as Byzantium taking its name from their leader Byzas from Megara, it was made into the eastern capital of the Roman Empire in AD 324, by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great; Byzantium was renamed Nova Roma ("New Rome"), but this name failed to impress; and the city soon became known as Constantinople, "the City of Constantine". With the fall of Rome and the Western Roman Empire, Constantinople became the sole capital of what historians now call the Byzantine Empire. This empire was distinctly Greek in culture, and became the centre of Greek Orthodox Christianity after an earlier split with Rome, and was adorned with many impressive churches, including Hagia Sophia, once the world's largest cathedral. The seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, was located in what is now Istanbul. After the Fall of Constantinople to the invading Turks, in 1453, Constantinople became part of the Ottoman Empire and soon, its capital. Before the conquest, Turks called the city İstanbul, but officially used the name Qusţanţaniyyeh ( القسطنطنية ), which means "The City of Constantine" in Arabic. Only on March 28, 1930, was the city officially renamed İstanbul. This often causes confusion among foreigners, as illustrated by the song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon.

Satellite image of Istanbul and the Bosporus

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Etymology

View of Bosphorus Bridge across the Bosphorus from Bebek District of Istanbul

The name İstanbul comes from the Greek words εις την Πόλη – eis tin Poli (pronounced [is tim boli]) or στην Πόλη, from ancient Greek eis tên Polin (εἰς τήν Πόλι(ν)) and meaning "in the city" or "to the city", Constantinople being the largest city in the world. The intermediate form Stamboul was commonly used by the Turks in the 19th century. Because of the custom of affixing an i before certain words that start with two consonants (as in "İzmir" from Smyrna: in a coincidence of s + m, the s turns to z in pronunciation as has been attested since early Byzantine times and in modern Greek usage), it was pronounced in Turkish İstambul. (The '/m'/ in the middle is also the Turkish linguistic custom of changing the '/n/' before a '/p'/ or /'b'/, as in çenber → çember, anbar → ambar, although rules like this are not always observed in proper nouns like İstanbul). Also in Greek an /n/ before a /p/ becomes an [m], and the /p/ after /n/ becomes a [b] in pronunciation. Similar examples of modern Turkish town names derived from Greek are İzmit (from İznikmit which was Nicomedia and İznik (from Greek, Nicaea: "eis tin Nikaia" (pron. [is tin nikea]), becoming [znik].

Arab writers called the city Qusţanţini/--yye, but the Ottomans used several additional names, e.g. Pây-i taht, "the foot of the throne" (Persian); Asitane; and Islambol, "lots of Islam".

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History

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Constantinople. (Discuss)

İstanbul's Levent District

Byzantium was the original name of the modern city of İstanbul. Byzantium was originally settled by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas. The name "Byzantium" is a transliteration of the original Greek name Βυζάντιον; (Demotic Modern Greek spells this Βυζάντιο, pronounced IPA /vi.ˈza.ⁿdjo/).

After siding with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Septimius Severus the city was besieged by Rome and suffered extensive damage in 196 AD. Byzantium was rebuilt by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and quickly regained its previous prosperity. The location of Byzantium attracted Constantine the Great who, in 330 AD, refounded it as Nova Roma or Constantinoupolis after himself (Constantinople, Greek: Konstantinoupolis or Κωνσταντινούπολη or Κωνσταντινούπολις) after a prophetic dream was said to have identified the location of the city. The name Nova Roma never came into common use. The Eastern Roman Empire which had its capital in Constantinople from then until 1453, has often been called the Byzantine Empire or Byzantium by modern scholars.

Nişantaşı is one of the most exclusive districts of Istanbul

The combination of imperialism and location would play an important role as the crossing point between two continents (Europe and Asia), and later a magnet for Africa and others as well, in terms of commerce, culture, diplomacy, and strategy. At a strategic position, Constantinoupolis was able to control the route between Asia and Europe, as well as the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Efxinos Pontos (Black Sea).

Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantine times the Greeks called Constantinople i Poli ("The City"), since it was the centre of the Greek world and for most of the Byzantine period the largest city in Europe. It was captured and sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and then re-captured by Nicaean forces under the command of Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261.

Yeni Camii (the New Mosque), one of the landmarks of İstanbul

On May 29, 1453 the city fell to the Ottoman Turks (See the Fall of Constantinople) and was part of the Ottoman Empire until its official dissolution on November 1, 1922. The Ottoman Turks called the city Stamboul or İstanbul.

During the Ottoman period the city went through a complete cultural change from an imperial Byzantine city to an Ottoman Imperial one. Hagia Sophia was converted to a Mosque as were several other churches in the city. Other Mosques were constructed around the city, each Sultan having built a grand Mosque to commemorate his reign. Amongst these Mosques, the most impressive are; Beyazit Mosque, Suleymaniye (The largest Mosque in İstanbul), Sultan Ahmed Mosque (The first Friday sermon or "Khutba" in this Mosque was read by the Jelveti Sufi Sheikh Aziz Mahmud Hudayi) and Fatih Mosque.

The wives and mothers of the Sultans also contibuted to the construction of Mosques and several Mosques both on the European and Asian sides of the city have the name Valide Sultan Mosque to signify that they were constructed under the orders of the Sultans mother.

Sufi orders which were so widespread in the Islamic world and who had many followers who had activly participated in the conquest of the city came to settle in the capital. During Ottoman times over 100 Tekkes were active in İstanbul alone.

Many of these Tekkes survive to this day some in the form of Mosques while others as museums such as the Jerrahi Tekke in Fatih, the Sunbul Effendi and Ramazan Effendi Mosque and Turbes also in Fatih, the Galata Mevlevihane in Beyoglu, the Yahya Effendi Tekke in Besiktas, and the Bektashi Tekke in Kadıköy, which now serves Alevi Muslims as a Cem Evi.

Istanbul 1908 - Bulgarians

Istanbul 1908 - Epirotes

Istanbul 1908 - Greeks

Istanbul 1908 - Greeks and Epiphany

When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved from Constantinople to Ankara. İstanbul became the official name in 1930.

In the early years of the republic, İstanbul was overlooked in favor of the new capital Ankara, but during the 1950s-1960s İstanbul underwent great structural change. The city's once numerous and prosperous Greek community, remnants of the city's Greek origins, dwindled in the aftermath of the 1955 İstanbul Pogrom and most Greeks leaving their homes for Greece.

In the 1960s the government of Adnan Menderes sought to develop the country as a whole and new roads and factories were constructed throughout the country. Wide modern road were built in İstanbul but some, unfortunately, were at the expense of historical buildings within the city.

During the 1970s the population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories that were constructed on the outskirts of the city. This sudden sharp increase in the population caused a rapid rise in housing development (some of poor quality resulting in great death and injury during the frequent eathquakes that hit the city) and many previously outlying villages became engulfed into the greater metropolis of İstanbul. Many Turks who have lived in İstanbul for over 30 or more years can still recollect how areas such as large parts of Maltepe, Kartal, Pendik, and others were green fields when they were young. Other areas such as Tuzla were nothing more than sleepy villages.

In 2005 the city enhanced its international profile by hosting European football's Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan at the new Ataturk Stadium. It proved to be one of the most memorable finals of all time as Liverpool fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 and win on a penalty shootout.

A more complete history of İstanbul before 1453 can be found at the Constantinople article.

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Places to visit

Constantinople was a cultural and ethnic melting pot. As a result, there are many historical mosques, churches, synagogues, and palaces to visit in the city.

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Buildings and monuments

View of Golden Horn from Eyup Sultan Cemetery

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul

Hagia Sophia

Basilica Cistern

Arap Mosque
Basilica Cistern
Bulgarian St Stephen Church (also known as "Bulgarian Iron Church")
Castle of Seven Towers
Chora Church (Kariye Camii)
Dolmabahçe Palace
Fatih Mosque
The Gates of Galatasaray Lisesi
Galata Tower
Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya camii)
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Kadırga Sokullu Cami
Kalenderhane
Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque
Mosaic Museum
Rumeli Hisari
Rüstem Pasha Mosque
Sadberk Hanım Museum
Sultanahmet Mosque or Blue Mosque
Süleymaniye Mosque
Topkapı Palace
Maiden's Tower (Kiz Kulesi)

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Markets, neighborhoods and places

The cross-continent European walking route E8 trail begins/ends here, running 4700km to Cork, Ireland.

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Seismic risk

İstanbul is situated near the North Anatolian fault, an active fault which has been responsible for several deadly earthquakes in contemporary history. Studies show that there are high risks of a devastating earthquake near İstanbul in the coming decades.[1][2] The difficulties of imposing suitable building rules is likely to result in a large number of collapses, especially in cheap masonry dwellings.[3]

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Education

Istanbul holds some of the finest institutes of higher education in Turkey, including a number of public and private universities. Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities.

Among the well-known public institutions are Istanbul Technical University ( İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi (İTÜ)), Bosphorus University (Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), Galatasaray University, University of Istanbul (İstanbul Üniversitesi (İÜ)), University of Marmara (Marmara Üniversitesi), and Yildiz Technical University (Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi).

Some of the private institutions include Istanbul Commerce University (İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi), Sabanci University (Sabancı Üniversitesi), Bilgi University, Istanbul Kultur University http://eng.iku.edu.tr,(İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi), Isik University (Işık Üniversitesi),Yeditepe University (Yeditepe Üniversitesi), Fatih University (Fatih Üniversitesi), Maltepe University (Maltepe Üniversitesi, Kadir Has University (Kadir Has Üniversitesi and Beykent University(Beykent Üniversitesi).

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Transportation

Main article: Public transport in Istanbul

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Airports

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Climate

Temperate-Continental

People coming to İstanbul can expect long, hot and humid summers and cold, rainy and snowy winters. The total precipitation for İstanbul averages 870 mm per year. The humidity of the city is constantly high which makes the air feel much harsher than the actual temperatures. The average maximum temperatures during the winter months vary between 03C (38F) and 08C (46F). Contrary to common belief, snowfall is common and can be heavy, and can fall between in November and April. The summer months -- June through September - bring average daytime temperatures of 28 C (82F) degrees or higher.

The highest recorded temperature in Istanbul is 40.5C (105F) (August 2000) and the lowest being -16.1C (3F) (February 1927). The weather gets a bit colder as one moves towards eastern Istanbul.

The city is quite windy, having an average wind speed of 17 kph (11 mph).

Despite summer being the driest season, rain is common and monsoon-like floods occur during that season.

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Districts

	Districts of Istanbul
Adalar \| Avcılar \| Bağcılar \| Bahçelievler \| Bakırköy \| Bayrampaşa \| Beşiktaş \| Beykoz \| Beyoğlu \| Büyükçekmece \| Çatalca \| Eminönü \| Esenler \| Eyüp \| Fatih \| Gaziosmanpaşa \| Güngören \| İstanbul Merkez \| Kadıköy \| Kağıthane \| Kartal \| Küçükçekmece \| Maltepe \| Pendik \| Sarıyer \| Silivri \| Sultanbeyli \| Şile \| Şişli \| Tuzla \| Ümraniye \| Üsküdar \| Zeytinburnu