Before going into detail and recounting our trip to Istanbul, with this article we will try to tell the history of the city, since its beginnings.

We think that all this is very important to understand the fascinating and multi-ethnic metropolis, which like a diamond presents many facets that make it shine with uniqueness.

Pre-Ottoman era

The history of the only city in the world that connects two continents begins in the Neolithic, as evidenced by some finds that came to light during the excavations of the Yenikapi metro station: we are talking about 8,500 years ago, even if legend has it that the city was founded by Byzas, inhabitant of Greek Megara, in the 7th century BC. (from which the word Byzantium derives).

Due to its strategic position, in the following centuries the city became an important center of commercial exchange, but it was only in the Roman era that it gained prominence of the highest order: during the civil war Constantine won and chose Byzantium as the capital of the Roman empire in 330 AD , which will begin to bear his name in honor, becoming Constantinople.

Subsequently, while the Western Roman Empire was dissolving due to political conspiracies, economic crises and barbarian invasions, the Eastern one continued to prosper for other centuries, inheriting splendor and vestiges from Rome; the maximum extension was reached in the second half of the 6th century AD, elevating Constantinople so much that it effectively became "the new Rome", with its palaces, amphitheatres, churches, gardens, imperial forums and an imposing defensive system.

In the centuries to come, the slow decline of the empire began, attacked from the east and the west first by the Persians, Avars, Slavs, and subsequently by the Arabs and Bulgarians, who from time to time took away portions of territory.

The mighty walls were not enough to repel the crusaders who breached in 1204 and began sacking the city.

This era which we can define as Pre-Ottoman has left us unsurpassed testimonies in architecture and the arts, such as the remains of the city walls, the aqueduct of Valens, Santa Sofia and its mosaics, the church of Santa Irene, the basilica Cistern and the Galata tower, the latter built by the Republic of Genoa in the late Middle Ages.

Ottoman era

The conquest of the city by the Ottomans, which effectively marked the end of the Christian era, occurred in 1453 AD at the hands of Mohammed II, known as the Conqueror, who made it become the new capital of the empire, Istanbul.

After the sacking there was Islamic reconstruction, which also coincided with a period of great economic development due to the policies of integration and tolerance that followed, where Greek and Armenian Christian immigration were encouraged.

The immense revenues from the Ottoman conquests, which reached the gates of Vienna, served to fuel the development of the royal palace of Topkapi and the splendid mosques that dot the Sultanahmet area.

From the Empire to the Republic

A century after the death of Suleiman known as the Magnificent, the most powerful of all Ottoman sovereigns, conspiracies, the vices of the harem, palace intrigues and corruption gradually became more and more disruptive to political stability.

This situation, combined with the loss of the western territories and the affirmation of the Atlantic basin as the main trade route in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, led the empire to decline, which culminated in its fall and disintegration after the First World War, where the troops allies conquered the city.

Ataturk, still loved and regretted champion of the war of independence today, proclaimed the republic in 1923 and chose Ankara as the new capital of the nascent state of Turkey.

From this entire period there remain many nineteenth-century traces in the neighborhoods north of Galata, in Sultanahmet, and in the luxurious Dolmabahçe palace.

Istanbul today

Modern Istanbul is a city that has to face many challenges, one above all overcrowding: just think that the city with its suburbs, since the foundation of the republic, has increased 12 times, reaching 15 million inhabitants.

To deal with traffic and pollution, the Turkish Republic has undertaken an unprecedented infrastructural and building development in recent decades, renovating many of the residential areas close to the historic and most popular tourist districts, and at the same time creating modern areas where skyscrapers stand out, very visible north of Taksim.

The less frequented tourist areas are those that require greater attention, and in general there is still work to be done to reach European standards, but we are on the right track.

That's all! If you like this text or have any question, leave a comment below.