about istanbul

THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATIONS

Istanbul is the commercial, historical and cultural center of Turkey, and its beauty lies in its ability to embrace its contradictions. Ancient and modern, religious and secular, Asia and Europe, mystical and earthly all co-exist here. For more than 3000 years, this city has been a crossroad of cultures, a rendez-vous of East and West. The skyline of İstanbul is shaped by the domes and minarets of over 400 mosques concentrated mostly in the 'Old City' or 'Historical Peninsula' on one hand, and by skyscapers of the 'New City' on the other.

The city consists of three parts in general: On the European side, the Historical Peninsula to the South of the Golden Horn and the Galata District to the North, and the New City on the Asian side.

*maps
*history
*entertainment-dining
*shopping

Ortakoy Square	Maiden’s Tower	Eminonu