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Istanbul is the only city in the world built on two continents. Its fate
has been determined by its vital strategic location and enchanted natural
beauty. It has long been coveted by powerful empires, and served as
capital first to Byzantium and then to the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul
stretches along the two shores of the Bosphorus that links the Sea of
Marmara in the South with the Black Sea in the North. It is Turkey's
largest city with a population of approximately 12 million. Istanbul is
also at the heart of the economy of Turkey. The largest companies and
banks, the main national newspapers, television networks and advertising
agencies all have their headquarters in the city.
Istanbul is also the capital of art and culture with a rich tradition in
opera and ballet, theater performing Turkish and foreign plays, concerts,
art exhibition, festivals, auctions, conferences and of course unique
museums. The city also boasts the country's largest and finest
universities. As an imperial capital for 1500 years, Istanbul has acquired
a highly original personality. At every turn in the city you are faced
with Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman palaces, mosques, churches, monasteries,
monuments, walls and ruins. Yet Istanbul is not a city living only in its
past. It is a vibrant, modern and future-oriented metropolis. Bazaars and
ultra-modern supermarkets and department stores, street vendors and stock-brokers,
old crumbling buildings and skyscrapers, horse-drawn carts and sumptuous
limousines coexist and this amalgam gives the city a multifaceted outlook
and flavor. Istanbul is like an intricately woven carpet, a subtle blend
of eastern and western cultures.
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