ISTANBUL

The old metropolis of Constantinople / Istanbul, which has been at the center of world history for more than 1,500 years, is spreading day by day on the European and Asian continents on both sides of the Bosporus.

The incessant stream of Anatolian immigrants has driven the population of Istanbul to over 6 million, and while suburban centers with a modern infrastructure sprang up, the historic city, still protected by the Theodosian fortifications, became a traditional and nostalgic field of tourism. Istanbul's modern shopping streets and new neighborhoods follow the example of European urban culture and are increasingly relocating to the periphery of the historic core. Exemplary is the expansion of Istanbul's Beyoglu, originally inhabited by Europeans, with exclusive shopping streets and residential areas.

And yet: the historic metropolis of Istanbul has not lost its fascination and size. The beautifully situated city on the Bosphorus, between the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea, is still accentuated by the countless domes and minarets of the historic churches and mosques. Istanbul has a silhouette that is unique in the world. On the swaying pontoons of the Galata Bridge in the midst of traffic chaos you experience them as well as on the Galata Tower or During the twenty-minute boat trip to the Asian part of the city. The attraction of this cosmopolitan city presents itself to visitors not only in the numerous, sometimes unique historical monuments, but also in their unique atmosphere. _ Constantinople and Istanbul, the Christian and the Islamic, the Byzantine and the Ottoman capitals, are the realization of an architectural dream: to give a great power urban expression and to formulate the claim to world domination.