Istanbul City Private Tour

Istanbul is divided into two by the Bosphorus strait, with one half in Asia and the other in Europe.

The long history and permanent economic activity in the city are due to its location at the crossroads of two civilizations: the Mediterranean civilizations of Rome and Greece, and the Eastern empires coming from Asia.

Up until the year, 330 Istanbul was known as Byzantium, and then until 1453 Constantinople. Its current name of Istanbul only came into being on the 28th of March 1930.

Istanbul was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, and later of the Ottoman Empire. On the 29th October 1923, the Turkish Republic was proclaimed, and the capital of the new country was moved to Ankara.

The vast majority of the city’s population is Muslim, with minority populations of Christians and Jews. From a religious point of view, it is also the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, head of the Orthodox Church. The old city contains about 9 square miles (23 square km), but the present municipal boundaries stretch a great deal beyond. The original peninsular city has seven hills, requisite for Constantine’s “New Rome.” Six are crests of a long ridge above the Golden Horn; the other is a solitary eminence in the southwest corner. Around their slopes are ranged many of the mosques and other historic landmarks that were collectively designated.