İstanbul

Augusta, Antonina, Nova Roma, Byzantion, Byzantium, Constantinople and finally Istanbul… These exciting names reminds the mysterious and enchanting past of the city. Istanbul can be considered as the combination of the old and modern city, as well as Islamic and Mediterranean mixture of cultures in a captivating atmosphere. There are only few cities in the world that can be so delightful to experience and enjoy as Istanbul.

The history of the city proper begins around 660 BC when Greek settlers from Megara colonized the area and established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosphorus. It fell to the Roman Republic in 196 BC, and was known as Byzantium in Latin until 330, when the city, soon renamed as Constantinople, became the new capital of the Roman Empire. During the reign of Justinian I, the city rose to be the largest in the western world, with a population peaking at close to half a million people. Constantinople functioned as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which effectively ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Constantinople then became the capital of the Ottoman Turks.

The population had declined during the medieval period, but as the Ottoman Empire approached its historical peak, the city grew to a population of close to 700,000 in the 16th century, once again ranking among the world’s most populous cities. With the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, that country’s capital moved from Constantinople to Ankara (previously Angora). Since 1930 the native name Istanbul has been the sole official name of the city in Turkish and has since replaced the traditional name “Constantinople” in most western languages as well.