Istanbul

[edit] Guide Note

There is an European and an Asian of Istanbul, divided by the Bosphorus Straits. There are four districts: Eminonu, Fatih, Beyoglu and Besiktas. The European side is known as old Istanbul, still has reminders of Classical, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras, whereas the Asian side is quite, more upscale.¹

[edit] Fast Facts

1. Country: Turkey
2. Mayor: Kadir Topbas²
3. Language spoken: Turkish
4. Population: 12,573,836(December 31, 2007)³
5. Currency: New Turkish Lira⁴
6. Country code: +90⁵
7. Area code: 212, 216⁶
8. Time zone: GMT +2 hours⁷
9. Airports: Ataturk Airport, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
10. Area: 5.196 square kilometers⁸

There is speculation that Istanbul has been populated as early as 3000 BC and throughout its history, Istanbul had a number of names. When Greek colonist occupied Turkey, Istanbul was given the name Byzantium, the city along the Bosphorus waterway. Byzantium became apart of the Roman Empire in early 100 AD. Byzantium eventually became the capital of the Roman Empire, and in 306 AD Emperor Constantine the Great renamed the city Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople in 1453, renaming it Istanbul. Istanbul became the last capital of the Empire, where military operations were headquartered.⁹

The average air temperature for Istanbul is about 13.6 degrees celsius with average humidity around 79% annually. The water temperature on average varies between 15 and 16 degrees celsius.⁸

1. Ajda Pekkan
2. Leyla Gencer
3. Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
4. Semiha Berksoy
5. Sertab Erener

1. Cem Yilmaz
2. Hulya Kocyigit
3. Mujde Ar
4. Tolga Cevik
5. Fatma Girik

1. Arda Turan
2. Hamza Yerlikaya
3. Hidayet Turkoglu
4. Lefter Kucukandonyadis
5. Nihat Kahveci

If planning a trip, please see our Istanbul Vacation, Istanbul Hotels, Istanbul Restaurants and Istanbul Tours