Turkey, Istanbul

Istanbul is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. The city covers 25 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located at 41° N 28° E, on the Bosphorus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn (Turkish: Haliç), in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (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 (Constantinople) served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330-395), the 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.

History

The first human settlement in Istanbul, the Fikirtepe mound on the Anatolian side, is from the Chalcolithic period, with artifacts dating from 5500-3500 BC. In nearby Kadıköy (Chalcedon), a large port settlement dating from the Phoenicians has been discovered. Cape Moda in Chalcedon was also the first location which the Greek settlers from Megara chose to colonize, in 685 BC, a few years before they colonized Byzantion on the other (European) side of the Bosphorus, under the command of King Byzas, in 667 BC. Byzantion was established on the site of an ancient port settlement named Lygos, which was founded by Thracian tribes between the 13th and 11th centuries BC, along with the neighbouring Semistra.Plinius has also mentioned Lygos in his books of history. Only a few walls and substructures belonging to Lygos have survived to our date, near the Seraglio Point (Turkish: Sarayburnu), where the famous Topkapı Palace now stands. During the period of Byzantion, the Acropolis used to stand where Topkapı Palace stands today.

The city was modernized from the 1870s onwards with the building of bridges, the creation of a proper water system, the use of electric lights, and the introduction of streetcars and telephones.

When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved from Istanbul to Ankara. The city's name Constantinople had remained, in the form Konstantiniyye, through the Ottoman Empire. Outside the Empire, it was often known as Stambul or Stamboul. A decree was passed in 1930 and ordered that from then on only the name of "Istanbul" would be used in official documents.

In the early years of the republic, Istanbul was overlooked in favour of the new capital Ankara but, however, Istanbul underwent great structural change. In the 1950s the new roads and factories were constructed throughout. Wide modern roads were built in Istanbul but some, unfortunately, were at the expense of historical buildings within the city. The city's once numerous and prosperous Greek community, remnants of the city's Greek origins, dwindled in the aftermath of the 1955 Istanbul Pogrom with most Greeks in Turkey leaving their homes for Greece.

During the 1970s the population of Istanbul began to speed 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 earthquakes that hit the city) and many previously outlying villages became engulfed into the greater metropolis of Istanbul. Many Turks who have lived in Istanbul 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.

Geography

City is in the Marmara Region. It encloses the southern Bosporus which puts the city on two continents – the western portion of Istanbul is in Europe, while the eastern portion is in Asia. The city boundaries cover a surface of 1,539 square kilometers. The Metropol region, or the province of Istanbul, has an area of 6,220 square kilometers.

Climate

The city has a temperate-continental climate, with hot and humid summers with cold, rainy and sometimes snowy winters. Humidity is often rather high which can make temperatures feel much warmer or colder than they actually are. The summer months of June through September bring average daytime temperatures of 28 °C (82 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius (74 °F), the coldest is January with 5.4 degrees Celsius (42 °F) on average. The weather becomes slightly cooler as one moves toward eastern Istanbul. Summer is by far the driest season, although there is no real summer drought such as occurs further west. The city is quite windy, having an average wind speed of 17 km/h (11 mph).

Economy

Historically, Istanbul has been the center of the country's economic life due to its location as an international junction of land and sea trade routes. Income distribution is not normal in Istanbul, such that 20% of the high income section uses 64% of the resources and 20% of the low income section uses 4% of the resources (based on 1994 statistics). The change in Istanbul's living standards reflects directly to the nations statistics as the 27.5% share of the consumption in Turkey is performed by the Istanbul.

Art & Culture

Istanbul is becoming increasingly colorful in terms of its rich social, cultural and commercial activities. While world famous pop stars fill stadiums, activities like opera, ballet and theatre continue throughout the year. During seasonal festivals world famous orchestras, chorale ensembles, concerts and jazz legends can be found often playing to a full house. Shows are hosted at a number of locations including historical sites such as Hagia Irene, Rumeli Fortress, Yedikule, the courtyard of Topkapı Palace, and Gülhane Park; as well as the Atatürk Cultural Center, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall and other open air and modern theater halls. For those who enjoy night life, there are many night clubs, pubs, restaurants and taverns with live music.

Media

First Turkish newspaper was printed in 1 August 1831 Takvimi Vekayi at Babali. Babali became the main center for print media. Istanbul is also the printing capital of Turkey with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. Most newspapers are based in Istanbul.

There are also numerous local and national TV and radio stations located in Istanbul, such as CNBC-e, CNN Türk, MTV Türkiye, NTV, Kanal D, ATV, Show TV, Star TV, Cine5, SKY Türk, TGRT, Kanal 7, Kanal Türk, Flash TV and many others.

Sports

The Atatürk Olympic Stadium is a five-star UEFA and first-class venue for track and field stadium, having reached the highest required standards set by the International Olympic Committee and sports federations such as IAAF, FIFA and UEFA.

Sports like basketball and volleyball are very popular.