ISTANBUL UP
The most important reason why Istanbul has developed as a world metropolis
is the geopolitical location of the city.stanbul located where the 48.north
latitude and 28.east longitude intersect,is the only city in the world
which is established on two continents.
The city consists of three parts in general;On the Europen 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.
The Europen side of the city is a trade and býsiness center,whereas the
Asian side is more of a residential area.Istanbul is established on the
both sides of the Bosphorus,which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of
Marmara,and separates Asia and Europe.The 7 km.long narrow inlet,named
as the Golden Horn,divides the Europen side of the city into two.Because
of its location between Asia and Europe,the city always had a great geopolitical
importance.
Today,Istanbul is still a political and commercial center for the Balkan
and Middle Eastern Countries and the Turkic Republics of Central Asia.
The settlement,known as Byzantium after its founder,took the name Constantinople,the
city of Emperor Constantine,during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine
the Great.
It was the known as Istanbul after the conquest of the Ottomans,and became
one of the biggest and most crowded city of Europe.
The city is spred over an area of 7,500 km2,long and 50km.wide.
Although its population is not occurately known,it is estimated 12 to 15
million.
THE BOSPHORUS UP
Through the city's heart runs the sea channel called the Bosphorus which
separates Europe and Asia. It reaches north to The Black Sea and south
to the Marmara Sea,
Its shores offer a delightful mixture of past and present, splendor and
simple beauty, modern hotels, wooden mansions, marble palaces, rustic stone
fortresses, elegant compounds and small fishing villages.
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