03Cities and regions

Largest city

Istanbul

Istanbul is Türkiye's largest city, home to about 15.8 million people, and it spreads over both shores of the Bosporus between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, so one half is in Europe and the other in Asia. Its story starts around 660 BC, when Greek settlers founded Byzantium on the European side, and since 1985 its historic areas have been a World Heritage site. On the old peninsula stands Hagia Sophia, completed in 537, with a dome whose interior rises 55.6 metres. Nearby is the Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1617, with six minarets and thousands of blue İznik tiles. Underground, the sixth-century Basilica Cistern holds up its roof on 336 marble columns, each 9 metres tall. In the Galata quarter a stone tower built in 1348 at the highest point of the old walls is now a museum. The Grand Bazaar ranks among the largest and oldest covered markets anywhere. Give the city three days at least, see the big sights early before the crowds, and keep the evening for a ferry across the water.

About 15.8 million

City population

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Hagia Sophia completed

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Basilica Cistern columns