?stanbul - geography. I INTRODUCTION ?stanbul, formerly Constantinople, city in northwestern Turkey, the only city in the world that sits astride two continents--Europe and Asia. ?stanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the country's chief commercial and cultural center. With the finest natural harbor in the region, it is also an important trade hub. The city is the capital of ?stanbul Province, which is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the south and southwest by the Sea of Marmara, on the east by Kocaeli Province, and on the west by Tekirda? Province. The Bosporous, a narrow strait that links the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, separates ?stanbul's European and Asian sections. ?stanbul has a temperate climate, with warm summers and mild winters, making it a popular vacation spot. Precipitation varies from an average of 33 mm (1.3 in) in summer to an average of 107 mm (4.2 in) in winter. The city is prone to earthquakes, some of which have caused severe damage. ?stanbul was founded in the 7th century BC as Byzantium. In the 4th century AD it was renamed Constantinople by Roman emperor Constantine the Great. The city served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire until it was captured by the Ottomans in the 15th century and made the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans called the city ?stanbul for centuries, but it was not until 1930, seven years after Turkey gained independence, that ?stanbul became its official name. According to some sources, the name ?stanbul is derived from the Greek term stin poli, meaning "to the city" or "in the city." II THE CITY AND ITS METROPOLITAN AREA ?stanbul is an expansive city, known for its natural and architectural beauty and its many religious and historical sites. The city proper covers an area of 1991 sq km (769 sq mi), while the metropolitan area occupies 5712 sq km (2204 sq mi). Important suburbs of ?stanbul include Bak?rköy, Zeytinburnu, and Kâ??thane in the European section, and Beykoz in the Asian section. The European section of ?stanbul is about twice the size of the Asian section and contains three-quarters of the city's population. European ?stanbul is separated into old and modern sections by the Golden Horn, a narrow channel of the Bosporous. The old section, known as Stambul, lies south of the Golden Horn, while the modern section, comprising the districts of Galata and Beyo?lu (formerly Pera), is located to the north. Stambul--the area within the walls (now largely in ruins) built by Roman emperor Theodosius II in the first half of the 5th century--contains most of the city's historical and architectural monuments. Stambul is dominated by the great palace complex of Topkap? Saray?, begun by Sultan Muhammad II in 1459 and added to by later Ottoman sultans. The palace is now Turkey's most popular tourist attraction. Near Topkap? is Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish), built in the 6th century as an Orthodox Christian church and later converted into a mosque. Farther west is Süleymaniye Mosque (built between 1550 and 1557), designed by the well-known Ottoman architect Sinan for Sultan Süleyman I. The Süleymaniye Mosque is widely considered ?stanbul's finest Ottoman monument. Other famous mosques in Stambul include the Blue Mosque of Sultan Ahmed I (built between 1609 and 1616), named for its blue-painted tile interior; the Mosque of Rustem Pasha (completed in 1561), famed for its Turkish tile work; and the Yeni Cami (New Mosque, 1597-1663). Other sites in Stambul include the famed Kapal?Çar?? (a covered bazaar with hundreds of shops) and the Kariye Mosque (formerly the Church of Saint Savior in Chora), which contains some of the world's finest Byzantine mosaics and frescoes. Northwest of the city walls, along the Golden Horn, is the sacred Mosque of Eyüp Ensari (1458), which contains the burial site of Ensari, a leader of the Arab siege of Constantinople (674-678). Across the Golden Horn from Stambul is Galata, a business district with shops, restaurants, and the city's main port. Galata is located at the base of the hill that encompasses modern ?stanbul; the district of Beyo? lu is located at the top of the hill. Dominating lower Galata is the large, conical Galata Tower, built in the 14th century. The main thoroughfare of Beyo? lu, called Istiklal Caddesi, is a pedestrian mall that contains some of ?stanbul's finest shops and movie theaters. Northeast of Beyo?lu is the neighborhood of Be? ikta? which contains Dolmabahçe Palace (built in 1854), where former Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lived while in ?stanbul; the ruins of Sultan Abd al-Aziz's Ç?ra? an Palace (completed in 1874); and the Y?ld?z Palace complex, built in stages over the course of the 19th century. The ?stanbul metropolitan area extends north along the European side of the Bosporus, through the primarily residential neighborhoods of Ortaköy, Arnavutköy, and Bebek. North of Bebek is Rumelihisar?, a fortress constructed by Sultan Muhammad II in 1452 in preparation for the siege of Constantinople the following year. North of Rumelihisar? are the scenic suburbs of ?stinye, Yeniköy, Tarabya, Büyükdere, and Sar?yer, all of which have well-known seafood restaurants and marinas. Opposite Rumelihisar?, on the Asian side of the Bosporous, is Anadoluhisar?, a fortress built in the late 1300s by Sultan Bayazid I. The Asian section of ?stanbul contains a series of small villages and towns, including (from north to south) Beykoz; Pa? abahçe; Küçüksu, the site of a rococo palace built between 1856 and 1857 for Sultan Abd al-Madjid I; Kandilli; Vaniköy; Çengelköy; Beylerbeyi, the site of Beylerbeyi Palace, built in 1865 for Abd al-Hamid II; and Üsküdar. Located directly across the water from Stambul, Üsküdar and its environs contain many famous Ottoman monuments, including the city's oldest Ottoman cemetery. Üsküdar is also the site of a hospital where British nurse Florence Nightingale served during the Crimean War (1853-1856). A short distance outside of Üsküdar is Büyük Çaml?ca, a forested hill noted for its scenic views of ?stanbul and the Bosporus. Southeast of Üsküdar is the Haydar Pasha railway station; once part of the famous Berlin-Baghd?d Railway, it is now the terminus for the Turkish rail system in Anatolia (Asian part of Turkey). To the south lies the residential district of Kad?köy. III POPULATION In 2007 ?stanbul's official population was 11,174,257. Unofficial estimates were at times much higher, reflecting an influx of people from other countries and rural parts of Turkey. Within the ?stanbul metropolitan area, there has been considerable migration from crowded central ?stanbul to the Asian side of the Bosporous and also to various suburbs. Bak?rköy, located west of Stambul, is ?stanbul's largest suburb. Like the country at large, ?stanbul is inhabited primarily by ethnic Turks who belong to the Sunni sect of Islam (see Sunni Islam). In recent years, significant numbers of Turks have immigrated to the city from Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, and the Turkic republics of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)--Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. There are also very small percentages of Jews and Greek and Armenian Christians. Turkish is the predominant language spoken. IV EDUCATION AND CULTURE As capital of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, ?stanbul played a central role in a variety of religious, intellectual, political, and cultural movements. The impact of these movements is visible in the city's architecture, museums, and libraries. ?stanbul is a vibrant academic center. Institutions of higher education include ?stanbul University (founded in 1453), ?stanbul Technical University (1773), Marmara University (1883), Y?ld?z University (1911), the University of the Bosporus (founded as Robert College in 1863 and taken over by the national government in 1971), and Koç University (1993). Two of Turkey's finest museums are housed in Topkap? and Hagia Sophia. Other museums in ?stanbul include the Turkish Military Museum and the Atatürk Museum. ?stanbul's Opera House stages operas, ballets, and symphonies. ?stanbul hosts a number of annual cultural events. The ?stanbul Cultural Festival, held in the summer, offers music and dance performances in more than 50 venues throughout the city, including outdoors at Rumelihisar?. The city also hosts a summer jazz festival. Turkey is one of the world's largest producers of motion pictures, and a highly regarded international film festival takes place in ?stanbul during the early months of the year. V RECREATION With increasing modernization, recreation is becoming a more important aspect of daily life in ?stanbul. The city has a number of public parks, including Y?ld?z Park and the Gulhane Park at Topkap?, which houses the ?stanbul Zoo. A park developed on the site of the Byzantine Hippodrome displays the remains of the ancient horseracing venue. Soccer is a favorite sport among ?stanbul residents, with basketball increasing in popularity. A small number of private clubs provides facilities for rowing and swimming in the Bosporus. Swimming in the Bosporus can be dangerous because of the swift current coming from the Black Sea, and many beach resorts no longer allow swimming due to pollution. The Prince's Islands in the Sea of Marmara are a favorite vacation spot for ?stanbul residents. VI ECONOMY ?stanbul is a commercial center for a large agricultural region in which sheep are raised and olives, wheat, tobacco, milk and dairy products, and fruit are produced. Recent antipollution legislation has forced increasing numbers of ?stanbul's manufacturing industries to move to surrounding provinces, especially Kocaeli. However, ?stanbul is still the center of Turkey's textile, metal products, paper, printing, and food industries. It is also the country's leading center for banking, computer services, media, tourism, and trade; nearly half of the country's exports and about 40 percent of its imports come through ?stanbul. ?stanbul is an important rail center, with several international rail lines terminating on the European side and the Anatolian rail system beginning on the Asian side. ?stanbul's public and private bus systems transport about 1.5 million passengers a day; thousands more people use the city's dolmu? (public shared taxis). A subway system is under construction, the first section of which is scheduled for completion in mid-1998. Construction of two bridges across the Bosporous--the Bosporus Bridge (1973) and the Bridge of Sultan Muhammad II (1988)--produced a significant decline in ferry traffic between the European and Asian parts of the city. Air traffic at Atatürk International Airport, located west of the city proper, has increased significantly in recent years as tourism and trade have increased. VII GOVERNMENT The Greater ?stanbul Municipality is governed by a mayor who also acts as governor of ?stanbul Province. The mayor is popularly elected to a five-year term. Reporting to the mayor are the chief district officers of the municipality's 12 districts, who are appointed by the Turkish Minister of the Interior. The municipal government distributes funds to each of the districts for transportation, water, roads, and other services. VIII CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Many of ?stanbul's problems stem from its steady population growth and unequal income distribution. There is a serious shortage of classroom space in the city's schools. The suburbs suffer from the uncontrolled proliferation of shantytowns, constructed on government land and often occupied by new residents of the city; the shantytowns are permitted to stand due to a loophole in Turkish law. Air pollution is a serious problem, and the increasing volume of shipping on the Bosporus has caused significant water pollution. IX HISTORY According to legend, ?stanbul was founded in 667 BC by a Greek colonizer, Byzas the Megarian, from whom the city's original name, Byzantium, is derived. Because of Byzantium's strategic and economic importance, Athenians, Persians, Spartans, Macedonians, and Romans fought over the city for centuries. In 324 AD Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated rival emperor Licinius at Chrysopolis (now Üsküdar) and became the sole Roman emperor. Constantine made Byzantium his capital in 330, expanding the city until it rested on seven hills, like Rome. The city was soon called Constantinople, meaning "city of Constantine." Constantinople became the capital of the Byzantine Empire--the eastern part of the Roman Empire, which survived the fall of Rome in the 5th century--and subsequently developed into the center of the Greek Orthodox Christian world. Beginning in the 4th century, Constantinople hosted eight councils of the Christian church see Constantinople, Councils of. Constantinople reached its peak during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527-565), who is responsible for some of the city's greatest architectural monuments, including Hagia Sophia. Following a plague in 542, the city entered a period of decline. Between the 7th and 11th centuries Persians, Avars, Arabs, Bulgarians, and Rus (East Slavs) attacked Constantinople. In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, the city was seized by the Latin (Roman Catholic) Crusaders, who held it until 1261 when Byzantine rulers recaptured the city see Crusades. The Fourth Crusade and its aftermath, which included a long series of family struggles for the title of emperor, sapped the Byzantine Empire of its resources and wreaked havoc on its capital city. In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, who made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire and called it ?stanbul. Under Ottoman rule, the city flourished as a political, commercial, and cultural center, reaching its height under Sultan Süleyman I (1520-1566). Soon after, however, ?stanbul entered a period of slow and steady decline. The Ottoman Empire grew weaker as the sultans became less effective leaders. ?stanbul was the site of several riots and rebellions, most notably the 1826 revolt of the Janissaries, the elite Ottoman military corps, which ended in the dissolution of the corps. After this point, ?stanbul saw reforms along Western lines, as European ideas of administration and development were brought into the city by increasing numbers of foreign visitors. During World War I (1914-1918) Allied forces defeated the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the war, ?stanbul came under Allied occupation. Following the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922), the nationalist army of Mustafa Kemal (later known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk) expelled Allied troops from the city. In 1923 Mustafa Kemal made Turkey a republic and moved the capital from ?stanbul to Ankara, which was the center of the nationalist movement. The city's name was officially changed to ?stanbul in 1930. ?stanbul remains Turkey's economic center, despite no longer being the capital. Its population has grown steadily, and in recent years, demands for improved road systems have led to some demolition of historic portions of the city. Contributed By: Norman Itzkowitz Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
