City guide · İstanbul

Istanbul

A thousand-year imperial capital spanning two continents: Byzantium, the Ottomans and the Bosphorus

Photo: Güldem Üstün · CC BY 2.0

Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus, half in Europe and half in Asia. In the old city of Sultanahmet, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar are all within walking distance; crossing the strait by ferry is the best way to see the city.

History

How the city came to be

Around 657 BC settlers from Megara in Greece founded Byzantium on today's Sarayburnu point. In 330 Constantine the Great rebuilt it as his capital, Constantinople. For almost sixteen centuries after that it was capital in turn of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the Latin Empire and the Ottoman Empire. In 537 Justinian I completed Hagia Sophia. In 1453 the 21-year-old Ottoman sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire. When the Republic of Türkiye was founded in 1923, its capital was set at Ankara.

c. 657 BCGreek settlers founded Byzantium
330Constantine the Great made Constantinople his capital
537Hagia Sophia was completed
1453Mehmed II captured Constantinople
1616The Blue Mosque was completed
1923The Republic of Türkiye was founded, with Ankara as its capital

Stories

Stories of the city

History · Old Istanbul: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar

The cathedral after the riot

In January 532 the chariot-racing factions of Constantinople set aside their usual rivalry and united against Justinian I — the 'Nika riots'. The emperor almost lost his throne, and the old church of Hagia Sophia was burned down in the rioting. Justinian then ordered it rebuilt, and in 537 today's Hagia Sophia, with its enormous dome, was completed; for nearly a thousand years it was the spiritual centre of the Byzantine Empire.

History · Old Istanbul: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar

A 21-year-old conqueror and a 13-year-old sultan

In 1453 the 21-year-old Ottoman sultan Mehmed II besieged Constantinople with a great army and took the city, ending the Byzantine Empire; Hagia Sophia was promptly converted into a mosque. A century and a half later, in 1603, Ahmed I came to the throne aged 13; opposite Hagia Sophia he built the Sultan Ahmed Mosque — the 'Blue Mosque' — completed in 1616; he died the following year.

People