Facts about Istanbul
The influence of the Italian community of Istanbul, however, is still visible in the architecture of many quarters, particularly Galata, Beyo?lu and Ni?anta??.
In 2005 the City of Istanbul had a GDP of $133 billion, outranking many prominent cities in the world.
Istanbul and its surrounding province produce cotton, fruit, olive oil, silk, and tobacco.
Istanbul is also one of the world’s most exciting conference destinations and is an increasingly popular choice for the world’s leading international associations.
Istanbul holds some of the finest institutions of higher education in Turkey, including a number of public and private universities.
Istanbul (Turkish: ?stanbul, Greek: ????????????????, historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and financial center.
The first water supply systems which were built in Istanbul date back to the foundation of the city.
Currently, international connections are provided by the line running between Istanbul and Thessaloniki, Greece, and the Bosporus Express serving daily between Sirkeci and Gara de Nord in Bucharest, Romania.
The city boundaries cover a surface area of 1,539 square kilometers, while the metropolitan region, or the Province of Istanbul, covers 6,220 square kilometers.
Istanbul University (1453) is the oldest Turkish educational institution in the city, while Istanbul Technical University (1773) is the world's second-oldest technical university dedicated entirely to engineering sciences.
Istanbul Archeology Museum, established in 1881, is one of the largest and most famous museums of its kind in the world.
Istanbul was the final seat of the Islamic Caliphate, between 1517 and 1924.
In 1876 the first international postal network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire was established.
Istanbul is becoming increasingly colorful in terms of its rich social, cultural, and commercial activities.
Most nationwide newspapers are based in Istanbul, with simultaneous Ankara and ?zmir editions.
The urban landscape of Istanbul is shaped by its many religious communities.
Following this setback, a slow reorganization of the economy of Istanbul was observed in 1999.
Istanbul has particularly become a global destination for laser eye surgery and plastic surgery.
Due to Istanbul's exponential growth during the second half of the twentieth century, a significant portion of the city's outskirts consist of gecekondus, a Turkish word created in the 1940s meaning "built overnight."
Historically, Istanbul has been the center of the country's economic life due to its location as an international junction of land and sea trade routes.
Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line between Istanbul and Edirne began on August 9, 1847.
Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage disposal system managed by the government agency ISKI.
The first Gutenberg press in Istanbul was established by the Sephardic Jews in 1493, who excelled in many areas, particularly medicine, trade and banking.
Istanbul is also the printing capital of Turkey with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive.
The doubling of the population of Istanbul between 1980 and 1985 is due to a natural increase in population as well as the expansion of municipal limits.
Almost all Turkish private high schools and universities in Istanbul teach in English, German or French as the primary foreign language, usually accompanied by a secondary foreign language.
Istanbul is situated near the North Anatolian fault line, which runs from northern Anatolia to the Marmara Sea.
Sea transport is vital for Istanbul, as the city is practically surrounded by sea on all sides: the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn, the Bosporus and the Black Sea.
Istanbul Modern, the city's largest museum and gallery of modern arts, is located close to Karakцy port.
The population of the Armenian and Greek minorities in Istanbul greatly declined beginning in the late nineteenth century.
Throughout its long history, Istanbul has acquired a reputation for being a cultural and ethnic melting pot.
When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved from Istanbul to Ankara.
The weather becomes slightly cooler as one moves toward eastern Istanbul.
Surrounding towns were absorbed into Istanbul as the city rapidly expanded outwards.
The "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" are listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Roughly 70 percent of all Istanbulers live in the European section and around 30 percent live in the Asian section.
In 2006 a total of 23 million tourists visited Turkey, most of whom entered the country through the airports and seaports of Istanbul and Antalya.
The number of Istanbul's Italians decreased after the end of the Ottoman Empire for several reasons.
Today, 134 companies operate in the Turkish pharmaceutical industry, a significant part of which is based within or near Istanbul.
Another old nickname of Istanbul is Vasileousa Polis (Queen of Cities) due to its importance and wealth throughout the Middle Ages.
The supposed personal belongings of the prophet Muhammad and the earliest Caliphs who followed him are today preserved in the Topkap? Palace, the Eyьp Sultan Mosque and in several other prominent mosques of Istanbul.
Pharmaceutical industry started in 1952 with the establishment of "Eczac?ba?? Pharmaceuticals Factory" in Levent, Istanbul.
Today, most of Turkey's remaining Greek and Armenian minorities live in or near Istanbul.
Today, more than one-third of the city's population live in the Asian side of Istanbul.
The seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, still remains in the Fener (Phanar) district of Istanbul.
Istanbul contributes 40 percent of all taxes collected in Turkey and produces 27.5 percent of Turkey's national product.
More than 200,000 Spanish Jews fled first to locations such as Tangier, Algiers, Genova and Marseille, later to Salonica, and finally to Istanbul.
Istanbul has two international airports: The larger one is the Atatьrk International Airport located in the Ye?ilkцy district on the European side, about 24 kilometers west from the city center.
The smaller one is the Sabiha Gцkзen International Airport located in the Kurtkцy district on the Asian side, close to the Istanbul Park GP Racing Circuit.
Other prominent state universities in Istanbul are the Bo?aziзi University (1863), Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts (1882), Marmara University (1883), Y?ld?z Technical University (1911) and Galatasaray University (1992).
The city's once numerous and prosperous Greek community, remnants of the city's Greek origins, dwindled in the aftermath of the 1955 Istanbul Pogrom, with most Greeks in Turkey leaving their homes for Greece.
On October 23, 1986, mobile telephone and paging systems were put into service in Istanbul, Ankara and ?zmir.
Despite these downturns, Istanbul's economy has strongly improved and recovered in the recent years.
A second large wave of Ashkenazi Jews came to Istanbul during the 1930s and 1940s following the rise of Nazism in Germany which persecuted the Ashkenazi Jews of central and eastern Europe.
Today, as well as being the country's largest city, Istanbul is the financial, cultural, and economic center of modern Turkey.