ISTANBUL
Istanbul is one of the truly great romantic cities, straddling the Bosphorus with its
skyline studded with domes and minarets. Today it hums as Turkey’s cultural
heart and good-time capital. Its history tracks back from Byzantium to
Costantinople to its place at the head of the Ottoman Empire.
In this city you can tramp the streets where crusaders and janissaries once
marched; admire mosques that are the most sublime architectural expressions
of Islamic piety; peer into the sultan’s harem; and hunt for bargains in the Grand
Bazaar. Side by side with Old Istanbul you’ll find hip bars and clubs, flashy executives,
malls and haute cuisine.
All this history, hustle and bustle coexists around the spine of the Bosphorus,
a constantly busy, heaving mass, dotted with ships and ferries, which provides the
link between Europe and Asia. There is a rich arts culture, opera, music, cinema, which
nods its head to the Ottoman and Byzantine ways while taking cues from Europe.
Istanbul has architecture, art, nightlife, cuisine, history, religion, shopping more than
enough of it, a true gem to be visited.