Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Founded under the name of Byzantion around 660 BCE, the city grew in size and influence, becoming one of the most important cities in history. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in and city limits have expanded.
About Istanbul in brief
Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Founded under the name of Byzantion around 660 BCE, the city grew in size and influence, becoming one of the most important cities in history. Under the name Constantinople it was the Ottoman capital until 1923. The capital was then moved to Ankara and the city was renamed Istanbul. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in and city limits have expanded to accommodate them. The city’s biggest attraction is its historic center, partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its cultural and entertainment hub is across the city’s natural harbor, the Golden Horn. Over 13.4 million foreign visitors came to Istanbul in 2018, eight years after it was named a European Capital of Culture, making the city the world’s fifth-most popular tourist destination. Hoping to capitalize on its revitalization and rapid expansion, Istanbul has bid for the Summer Olympics five times in twenty years. The name İstanbul is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase “Dergate to Prosperity” meaning the world was the only major city in the vicinity of Constantinople. This reflected the importance of Constantinople in the world in the Ottoman world. An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from the first syllables of Constantinople, with the third syllables dropped and the first and second syllables added to the name.
The first known name of theCity is Byzantium, the name given to it at its foundation by Megarean colonists around 660 CE. It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 CE and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as an imperial capital for almost sixteen centuries, during the RomanByzantine, Latin, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Istanbul is the most populous city in Turkey and the country’s economic, cultural and historic center. It hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of Turkey’s gross domestic product. It is considered an Alpha – global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is the largest city in Europe by population. It has a total population of around fifteen million residents in its metropolitan area, ranking as the world’s fifteenth-largest city and the largestcity in Europe. It remains the most common name for the city until the establishment of the Turkish Republic, which urged other countries to use Istanbul as their capital. Kostam-e Qonstantiniyyah al-Mahmiyyah and Beyoğlu were the names used alternatively by the Ottoman Empire during their rule. The current name of Istanbul is “Istanbul” by the Turkish people. It also means “City of Constantine” in Turkish.
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This page is based on the article Istanbul published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
