About
Istanbul (previously Constantinople, previously Byzantium) is the world's only city spanning two continents (Europe and Asia, divided by the Bosphorus Strait), and has been the capital of three of history's greatest empires: the Byzantine Empire (330-1453 CE), the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922), and briefly the Turkish Republic before Ankara took over. Under the name Constantinople, it was the world's largest and richest city for much of the first millennium CE.
Constantinople was founded by Roman Emperor Constantine I in 330 CE and fell to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II on May 29, 1453 — one of history's most consequential dates. The Byzantine period produced the Hagia Sophia (537 CE — an engineering marvel with a 31-meter dome; it served as a Christian cathedral for 916 years, then a mosque for 481 years, then a museum for 86 years, then a mosque again from 2020). The Ottoman period produced the Topkapi Palace (residence of sultans for 400 years), the Grand Bazaar (one of the world's oldest covered markets, 4,000 shops), and the Blue Mosque. The Bosphorus Strait — 31km long, 700m-3.7km wide — is one of the world's most strategically important waterways.
# Top 10 Istanbul facts
- 1only intercontinental city
- 2Hagia Sophia (537 CE, 916 years cathedral)
- 31453 fall of Constantinople
- 4Topkapi Palace (400 years sultans' residence)
- 5Grand Bazaar (4,000 shops)
- 6Bosphorus Strait (strategic waterway)
- 7Spice Bazaar
- 8Byzantine mosaics
- 9Suleiman the Magnificent
- 10UNESCO World Heritage
Fascinating Facts
- ◆The Hagia Sophia's dome (537 CE) was so far ahead of its time that when Ottoman architects tried to build comparable structures 1,000 years later, they considered Hagia Sophia a supernatural achievement — Sinan, the greatest Ottoman architect, spent his career trying to match it with the Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques
- ◆The fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453 forced Greek scholars to flee westward to Italy with manuscripts of classical texts — helping trigger the Italian Renaissance by introducing Western Europe to ancient Greek philosophy, mathematics, and science it had lost
- ◆Istanbul has been continuously inhabited for approximately 7,000 years, making it one of the world's oldest continuously occupied major cities — and still functions as Turkey's cultural and economic capital despite not being the political capital
More in Places4 related
7
Places
Great Wall of China
The greatest architectural achievement in human history — 21,000 km of stone and history.
Interest91/100
33
Places
The Great Pyramid of Giza
Built 4,500 years ago — still one of the largest structures ever constructed.
Interest85/100
38
Places
Taj Mahal
A monument to love — the world's most beautiful building took 22 years to build.
Interest84/100
17
Places
Machu Picchu
The lost city of the Incas — a masterpiece of engineering above the clouds.
Interest82/100