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Dolmabahce Palace and Bosphorus
ORIENTATION
The historic city of Istanbul was originally founded on the seven hills of a peninsula surrounded on its three sides by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the gulf called the Golden Horn. The location was ideal for many reasons. It was centrally located on East-West trade routes, easily defendable with only one landward side, it dominates the well protected 8 km long natural harbour of the Golden Horn, which was surrounded by fertile land abounding in game and the climate was mild around the year. Consequently , the city kept growing gradually and from the 4th century A.D. on, was regarded as the centre of the old world since it was the capital of one empire or another (namely the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires in succession) for about 1600 years, a capital where over 120 emperors and sultans reigned.
Throughout its history, the old city kept growing westwards on the peninsula, and accordingly that segment of the city walls was rebuilt four times. The last line, which can still be seen today, was built in the 5th century A.D. and had stood against the assaults of many conquerors before giving in to the Ottoman Army of Sultan Mehmed II in 1453.
Under Ottoman rule, the city began to change. The fact that there was no longer the threat of any enemy reaching the capital of the powerful empire facilitated the development of new settlements on the Asian as well as the European coasts of the Bosphorus and also on the hills across the Golden Horn where a Genoese colony emerged at a spot called Galata. A very significant change was that of the skyline of the city - the fine minarets of royal mosques that are regarded as the crowns of Istanbul began rising into the sky immediately after the conquest of the city. |
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Today Istanbul is the largest city of modern Turkey, and with its 15 million inhabitants, one of the most crowded European cities. In the old city that has expanded beyond the city walls since the end of the 19 th century, most of the main roads and squares are still the same as they had been in the 5th and 6th centuries. Most of the important buildings - palaces, places of worship,etc. - of the Byzantine and Ottoman periods and even some of those of the Roman period still stand intact. Most of the narrow streets and peculiar apartment houses of Galata and Beyoglu where the Christian population of the city used to dwell still look the same as they did at the turn of the century, and the European architectural style of some 80-90 years ago may be observed in the part uphill where the embassies of European countries had accumulated. Nowadays, this area is surrounded by modern hotels, trade centres and residential quarters.
The hills on the two sides of the Bosphorus are covered with woods. The shores are adorned with magnificent palaces, mosques, summer quarters of some embassies to the Ottoman Empire and the two fortresses. Also contemporary buildings blend into the predominately historic outlook of the Bosphorus. Because people tend to prefer eating and drinking amidst beautiful scenery, both shores abound in restaurants and taverns where fresh seafood and other mezes (Turkish Hors d'oeuvres) are served.
The Bosphorus currents which posed a great challenge to the sailboats and rowboats of the old times today carry the dense traffic between Black Sea ports and the rest of the world. On a tour of the Bosphorus, the most dominant sight is of course the Bosphorus Bridge. Built in 1973, the bridge has reduced to minutes the time needed for motor vehicles to cross the strait.
Today, about on third of the population of Istanbul resides in the Asian part of the city. Here the major points of attraction are several beautiful mosques in Uskudar; the Barracks of Selimiye, which while serving as a military hospital during the Crimean War, witnessed the heroic work of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing; and the twin hills of Çamlica offering the eye the best panoramic view of Istanbul. Also in the vicinity's the Karacaahmet Cemetery, the largest graveyard in the Islamic world.
Another important part of Istanbul is the Princes' Islands, a group of nine islands and islets in the Sea of Marmara. The four larger islands in the group have many beautiful summer houses and villas. There are no motor vehicles on any of the islands and the only means of transportation are the horsedrawn phaetons.
The Sea of Marmara, known as the "smallest sea in the world" is connected to the Black Sea through the Strait of Bosphorus and to the Aegean through the Strait of Dardanelles. It is exceptionally rich in fish and sea flora.
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