Istanbul is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and economic center. The city is the capital of the Province of Istanbul. It is located at 41° N 28° E, on the Bosphorus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn (Halic), in the northwest of the country. Istanbul extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents.

Istanbul is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and economic center. The city is the capital of the Province of Istanbul. It is located at 41° N 28° E, on the Bosphorus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn (Halic), in the northwest of the country. Istanbul extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents. Istanbul is also the only city in the world which served as the capital to three different Empires: The Roman Empire (330-395), Byzantine Empire (395-1453) and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1923). In 1923, following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the capital was moved to Ankara.
According to the 2000 census, the population is 8,803,468 (city proper) and 10,018,735 (metro area). The census bureau estimate for July 20, 2005 is 11,322,000 for the province, which is generally considered as the metropolitan area, making it one of the twenty largest metropolitan areas in the world. The city was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2010 (along with Pécs, Hungary and Essen, Germany).
The city has had many names through the years and according to the culture, language and religion of its inhabitants. Byzantium, Constantinople and Stamboul are examples that may still be found in active use. The etymology of the names and an extended list of old names can be found under Istanbul (etymology). It has also been nicknamed "The City on Seven Hills" because the historic peninsula (the oldest part of the city) was built on seven hills, also represented with seven mosques, one at the top of each hill.
The "Historic Areas of Istanbul" were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

Names of Istanbul

Istanbul was formerly known as Byzantion (Byzantium in Latin), and this is the origin of the term we use today. It is not known with any certainty where the name Byzantion came from, and it is quite clear that the legends that arose at later periods did not reflect the truth.
It has been noted that 'Byzant'. which is the root of the word 'Byzantion' greatly resembles many of the place names existing in Anatolia during the third century. Although it can be accepted that the ion suffix is associated with the Phrygians, who arrived with the Aegean migrations, the nt' on the end of the root 'Byzant' can also be found in the ancient local languages of Anatolia. Throughout the Early Ages the name 'Byzantion', which forms the core of the former name of Istanbul, was used. After the city had been re-founded in 330 AD by Constantine I (and this was towards the end of the Roman Empire), it was referred to as 'Deutera Rome', or the second Rome, and also as 'Nea Rome', which means 'New Rome'. Then the name of its founder was taken as the basis, and the name Konstantinoupolis' adopted, which was the source of all the western names for the city. The Germans refer to Istanbul as 'Konstantinopel', the French and the British as 'Constantinople' and the Italians as 'Constantinopoli'. Although the official name of the city has, ever since the establishment of the Republic, been 'Istanbul' and great sensitivity shown on this subject, Europe resists the adoption of the name 'Istanbul'. It is not known with any certainty where the name 'Istanbul' came from. According to an opinion that has existed for many years. the Byzantines did not refer to the city by its actual name, but, because of its size, simply as 'Polls' (the City), and when they wanted to say 'to the City', they sajd 'eist enpolin' (is-tin-polin), which was the origin of the name 'Istanbul'.
Recent research has shown that the name 'Istanbul' was used, if not during the Byzantine period, at least during the 11th century and that the Turks knew the city by this name. Istanbul has had other names at various times but none of them was used widely or for any great length of time. During the Turkish period the names 'Dersaadet' and 'Deràliye' were used (and these were adjectival more than anything else), and in official correspondence and on coins the Turkish transcription of 'Konstantinoupolis', 'Konstantiniye' was used. Although the use of the name 'Konstantiniye' was prohibited at one time during the Ottoman period by Sultan Mustafa Ill, its use continued, to be abandoned during the republican period.

Legends about the foundation of Istanbul

Although it is a legend about the foundation of the city that has come down to us over the ages in various forms, it does not cast any real light on the facts surrounding the initial foundation of the city. According to a local legend which is comparatively much older than the others, the Thracian king Byzas, who was the son of the nymph Semestra, had married Phidaleia, daughter of Barbyzos, king of a region near to Istanbul; it was this woman who is said to have founded Byzantion, or Istanbul.
According to another legend lo, lover of Zeus, the chief of all the ancient Greek gods, turned herself into a cow to esacape the wrath of Hera, Zeus's vengeful wife. During her flight she gave birth to a daughter, Keroessa. on the banks of the Golden Horn. Keroessa was brought up by the nymph Semestra and in due course she gave birth to the son of the sea god Poseidon, whom she named Byzas. Byzas was brought up by the naiad Byzia. and he went on to found the city of Istanbul. It is possible to fit this legend in with the geography of Istanbul. On the other hand, the names Byzas and Keroessa are to be encountered in different forms in very old place names in Anatolia. This perhaps demonstrates that the legend originates in events that took place in the depths of Anatolia's history. According to legends originating in more recent times,(and one of these, born in the 1st century AD, is extremely well-known) Byzas had set out with the chief of a band of migrants from Megara in Greece. The oracle in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi had advised them to set up their new homeland in a place “facing the blind”. These migrants were said to have set up their first city on what is now Sarayburnu; this promontory lies opposite Kadikdy, formerly known as Khalkedon, which had been founded 17 (according to other sources 19 or 29) years earlier, and its founders had been accused of being blind because they had ignored the beauty of Istanbul. This last legend must be connected with the Greek migrations that took place between 750 and 550 BC and is certainly not related to the city's initial foundation. The only possibility is that during these migrations anew Greek city was founded in what is now Istanbul circa 660 BC, from which the present city developed.

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