istanbul Car Service

24/7 istanbul Airport Transportation
34764 - 5 Star Service Ratings

No Hidden Fees /All Included Price

Form for Entry to Turkey

The form must be filled in within the last 72 hours before travel.

Information on the website should be filled in in order to provide you proper information and protect the health of you and your loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic. A private HES code will be created automatically by the given information. We will be able to contact you in the case of any contact with Covid-19 patients during your travel and staying thanks to HES Code. For this reason, the accuracy and update ability of the information is quite important.

The form you will fill may be checked at the borders of the Republic of Turkey whether you have filled in this form or not, and If you haven’t filled in the form or made misleading statements, you may face legal and administrative sanctions. Furthermore, you might not be allowed to enter Turkey. (if you are not a Turkish Citizen or you do not have a residence permit).

Fill in all form fields to go to the next step.

Government of Turkey Offical Form Please click the Link Below filled up the form 

https://register.health.gov.tr/#

For Your Questions, Suggestions and Opinions Contact: +908504770477
Copyright © 2021 REPUBLIC OF TURKEY MINISTRY OF HEALTH. All rights reserved.

WHY CHOOSE US?

Istanbul Airport Car Service 

Guaranteed on-time service We offer you a super VIP experience hassle-free service

Limopedia since 1998 specializes in Istanbul Airport Transportation, providing the most seamless, stress-free service possible. Experience has over 20 years of excellence in providing efficient & affordable Istanbul Airport Car Service, with a diverse fleet for all luggage capacities. We track your flight to ensure the most on-time service.

Our Fleet

(IST)(IST ) Istanbul Airport RatesStarting Price
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Aksaray$49
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Bakırkoy$59
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Besiktas$59
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Beylikduzu$49
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Etiler$59
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Kadıkoy$79
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Levent$59
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Otogar Bus Terminal$59
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Sabiha Gokçen Airport$89
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Sisli - Mecidiyekoy$79
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Sultanahmet - Sirkeci$49
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Taksim$49
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Tarabya - Ortakoy$49
(IST)Istanbul Airport to Tuzla$79

istanbul Car Service to Airports

Limopedia Istanbul Car Service  We provide on-time guaranteed  Car Service Istanbul airport to /from istanbul …

We specialize in time in safe, dependable Black Car Service, Private Shuttles, Passenger Van Service, and Group Transportation.

Please click “Reservation” to reserve a car from Limopedia

Need a Ride to istanbul Airport? Door to Door Transportation | Book Online – Limopedia Car Service – istanbul

Istanbul Private transportation services. Travelers or tourists use our bus or shuttle from istanbul airport as part of their istanbul Vacation. 

Car Service To istanbul International Airport

Limopedia, we pride ourselves on being a reliable istanbul airport car service at istanbul International Airport ( IST ) that guests can trust. You’ll never have to worry about being left behind when you book with us all our chauffeurs Certifated pros. Every service comes with a complimentary 90-minute wait period after arrival. If your flight is delayed, you won’t have to stress about rescheduling your ride. We’ll adjust your dispatch time to ensure your chauffeur is waiting when you land.

Without a reservation, you’ll have to search for transportation after you land. Who wants to waste time looking for taxis or figuring out bus schedules when Istanbul is waiting? Since the fares for your Limopedia limousine service are all-inclusive, you’ll handle everything at the time of your booking.

Istanbul Airport Transfers

Istanbul Airport Car Service

Istanbul Airport Transportation Guide

information about Istanbul’s No#1 Airport, New Istanbul Airport (IST), including the history, airport services, flights, terminal, connections, sleeping at the airport, hotels, transportation alternatives such as Public Buses, HAVAIST Airport Shuttles, Shared or Private Shuttles, etc, tips for departures, and insider advice.

Some Practical Information for IST
* As of 08 April 2019, the big move of Istanbul Ataturk Airport to New Istanbul Airport (IST) is completed and IST has become fully operational. Ataturk Airport is closed for all international and domestic flights.

* New Istanbul Airport (IST) is located north-west of central Istanbul, in the Arnavutkoy district, by the Black Sea shore, on the European side.

* New Istanbul Airport Code is IST, Phone : +90 444 1 442 (Call center) , Web : istairport.com

* You can travel between New Istanbul Airport (IST) and central Istanbul directly by municipal public buses, HAVAIST Airport Shuttle, taxi and Private Shuttles.

* The Airport Shuttle is the most practical way, the Private Shuttle (see on bottom page) is the most comfortable and convenient way to travel between the airport and central Istanbul, taking about 1 hour from Istanbul city center.

* There are plenty of short and long-term National Car Parks for people driving to the airport.

* There is NO direct METRO operating between New Istanbul Airport (IST) and city center.

Where is the New Istanbul Airport (IST)?
New Istanbul Airport (IST) is situated on the north eastern part of Istanbul, on the Arnavutkoy district, close to the Black Sea coast. Average distance from the New Istanbul Airport to major Istanbul city center districts is about 45 km.

New Istanbul Airport (IST) (2021 Master Guide with Insider Advice, Tips)
Distances to Major Districts & Neighborhoods
Avcilar 53 km., Ataturk Airport 40 km., Bakirkoy 42 km., Besiktas 41 km., Eminonu 40 km., Galata 38 km., Kadikoy 52 km., Kavacik 42 km., Levent 36 km., Maslak 35 km., Sabiha Gokcen Airport 85 km., Pendik 87 km., Sisli 37 km., Sultanahmet 45 km., Ortakoy 41 km., Taksim 40 km. and Uskudar 45 km.

New Istanbul Airport Map

To see New Istanbul Airport’s exact location, see the Istanbul airports map.

IST Flights – Live Arrivals & Departures Info
Please check istairport.com for live Arrivals,
Please check istairport.com for live Departures.
IST Passenger Rights
In the event of flight cancellation, denied boarding, delay, upgrading or downgrading or flight delay for a period of at least 2 hours, the passengers can benefit from their rights. Please check your rights when you travel by air in the European Union with the following link europa.eu/youreurope/.

You may also call Civil Aviation General Directorate for detailed information.
Telephone: + 90 (312) 203 60 00- (242) 330 32 38

Insider Advice for IST Departures
* For getting to New Istanbul Airport (IST) from city center; we recommend you to arrange your time as to be at the airport at least 1,5 hours for domestic flights and 2,5 hours for international flights.

* You’ll possibly wait in the queue on the main entrance, airline’s counter, and check-in process.

* Since the airport is very huge one, you’ll need to walk from one point to another inside the airport, about at least 15 minutes.

* After your check-in, you’ll also wait in the queue for passenger lounge entrance, flight ticket and passport control.

* For domestic flights; if the check-in process is not completed within 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time, than the passenger loses all rights on the ticket and flight.

* For International flights; if the check-in process is not completed at the latest 60 minutes before the scheduled departure time, than the passenger loses all rights on the ticket and the flight.

* Therefore, we highly recommend you to go to the airport early.

* Regarding the minimum transfer time of average 1,5 hours plus 30 minutes possible traffic, etc, you should take your transfer to New Istanbul Airport from city center, at least 3,5 to 4,5 hours before your flight.

History of the New Istanbul Airport Project
The New Istanbul Airport (IST), after the Ataturk Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW), is the third international airport of Istanbul that opened with a big ceremony on 29th October 2018.

The aim and vision of the IST is to build a very large airport in Istanbul to cover and handle fast growing air traffic and travels to Istanbul as Istanbul is one of the top 20 most visited cities in the world and also an important hub for worldwide travelers and airlines.

The IST project has started in 2015 having four phases and the part of the first phase of the airport completed on 29th October 2018 and the airport is partly opened.

The all four phases of the IST is planned to be completed in 2028 and after that there will be six runways, two terminal buildings and two air control towers and the IST will be the largest airport in the world with a capacity of 200 million passengers per year.

The Completion of the New Istanbul Airport (in 2028)
The first phase of the New Istanbul Airport (IST) includes 3 runways, a terminal building, the facilities related with the cargo, maintenance, repair and support, the Airport City with shopping mall, retail shops, cafes and restaurants inside and those facilities are planned to be completed in 2021.

After the completion of the first phase, the capacity of the IST will rise to 90 million passengers per year.

The second phase of the IST that includes the 2nd terminal building and the 4th runway is planned to start in 2020 and to be complete in 2022.

The third phase of the IST that includes the 5th runway, the 2nd air control tower and support facilities is planned to be completed in 2023 and the capacity will rise to 150 million passengers per year.

And finally the fourth phase that includes the 6th runway is planned to be completed in 2028 and the capacity will rise to 200 million passengers per year.

Of course all those plans are dependent to everything goes in time without any possible delays or troubles. When the IST will fully be completed, it will be the largest airport in the world in 2028 unless other big airports rise their capacities or any country make bigger one.

Covid-19 PCR Test at New Istanbul Airport
The Covid-19 PCR test center of New Istanbul Airport is situated on the Arrivals floor exit gate number 14. You can easily see the clinics established at the airport, wait in the queue and get your PCR test done.

New Istanbul Airport (IST) (2021 Master Guide with Insider Advice, Tips)
image source: istairport.com
Turkish citizens can get their results from the e-nabiz system on enabiz.gov.tr​

Foreign passengers can get their results printed from the information desk on location.

More info from istairport.com

New Istanbul Airport (IST) Terminal
IST is spread across arrivals and departures levels, with shops, duty free, cafes, restaurants, currency exchange facilities, banks, rent a car, information counters, accommodation desks and left luggage facilities.

All passengers must clear security control before entering the departure lounge and you’ll find shops, bars and cafes. In the arrivals hall, you can find shops, duty free, restaurants, currency exchange, car rental and hotel reservation desks.

Check the New Istanbul Airport Terminal Plan Interactive Map from below.

New Istanbul Airport Terminal Map
New Istanbul Airport (IST) Parking
New Istanbul Airport has a multi-storey parking area, having a car park with a capacity of 40.000 vehicles and with the highest service quality and technology.

The airport car park area has services that include car wash, tire change, tire bank, mini maintenance, fueling and Authorized Services.

New Istanbul Airport (IST) Accommodation
Sleeping Pods/Cabins at New Istanbul Airport
New Istanbul Airport (IST) (2021 Master Guide with Insider Advice, Tips)
image source – IGA istairport.com
New Istanbul Airport (IST) recently introduced a series of sleep cabins called “IGA Sleepod”, at the International Flights, Departure Terminal.

Passengers can rent these sleeping capsules on an hourly basis. The fare is €9.

A very good service for airport sleepers to have a relax and peaceful sleep, and a budget alternative to airport hotels. Continue reading…

Hotel inside New Istanbul Airport (IST)
The New Istanbul Airport is great that it offers inside Airport Hotel for travelers. The Innovative London based hotel brand, YOTEL operates inside the New Istanbul Airport. YOTEL serves in two separate parts of the New Istanbul Airport, YOTEL Istanbul Airport (Landside) and YOTELAIR Istanbul Airport (Airside), with total 451 rooms (also known as cabins). You are able to make hourly bookings as well.

Hotels near New Istanbul Airport (IST)
On the contrary, there are not any hotels located close to the New Istanbul Airport (IST). It is because the the New Istanbul Airport is constructed on the northern far end of Istanbul, about 45 km. from the city center.

As for the closest hotels to the IST, you may find several hotels located within 14-30 km. We gathered those hotels’ info on our the closest hotels to the New Istanbul Airport page. You may check them there.

Traveling to and from New Istanbul Airport (IST)
You can read our below pages with district/neighborhood specific “how to get” guides.

How to travel between New Istanbul Airport and Taksim?
How to travel between New Istanbul Airport and Sultanahmet?
How to travel between New Istanbul Airport and Besiktas?
How to travel between New Istanbul Airport and Bakirkoy?
How to travel between New Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport?
by Metro
Unfortunately, there is NO metro line from New Istanbul Airport (IST) to Istanbul city center at the moment.

However, the construction of a new Metro line (M11 from Gayrettepe) for New Istanbul Airport is still in progress, and it is announced to be operational in mid-2021. Read more on our New Istanbul Airport Metro Line Info page.

by Public Buses & Airport Shuttles
The IETT (Municipal) public buses and HAVAIST airport shuttles operate in between many districts of Istanbul and the New Istanbul Airport.

* IETT Public Buses has 7 lines with line numbers; H-1, H-2, H-3, H-6, H-7, H-8 and H-9. For more information and timetables, visit the Municipality Public Buses to Airports website.

* Public Buses mostly operate to non tourist destinations. There are NO Public Buses for popular tourist districts and neighborhoods such as Sultanahmet, Taksim, Besiktas, Beyoglu, etc.

* The HAVAIST Airport Buses operate on a regular fixed route, around 50 destinations in the city.

New Istanbul Airport (IST) (2021 Master Guide with Insider Advice, Tips)
* HAVAIST has 9 lines with numbers; HVIST-5, HVIST-6, HVIST-7, HVIST-8, HVIST-9, HVIST-10, HVIST-12, HVIST-13 and HVIST-14. Read more on all HAVAIST routes and price info on our HAVAIST page.

* Read more about all the transportation options for New Istanbul Airport (IST) from our Travelling to and from New Istanbul Airport page.

by Private & Shared Shuttles
If you are a group or a family with kids or having lots of luggage with you, than we highly recommend you to take private shuttle transfers for your hotel as they offer a fixed rate, comfortable and safe transfer that include meet-and-greet airport pickups and luggage assistance to your hotel from the airports or vice versa.

The IETT or HAVAIST airport shuttles will drop you off at the city center and you’ll need to take a taxi or walk from there again which will harder for you with your kids and luggage. But private transfers drives you just to the entrance of your hotel.

New Istanbul Airport (IST) (2021 Master Guide with Insider Advice, Tips)
As for private shuttle transfers, we highly recommend Tranigo (a Turkish company operating since 1996, and partnered with renowned names like Hertz, Thrifty, Budget, and many reliable and efficient local suppliers) as we recently booked with them had a great trip to our hotel.

It offers low-priced, fixed rate private shuttles that include meet-and-greet airport pickups and luggage assistance. Their large selection of comfortable taxis, minivans, luxurious cars and 6-19+ passenger minibuses can match any need while ensuring quick and safe travels to and from Istanbul Airport (IST). And they are faster and more comfortable than shuttles, buses and taxis.

Below you can click on the destination you need an airport transfer or make a search from the search box under to find your prefect private or shared shuttle transfer service in between the airport and your hotel.

Istanbul Airport Transfer 

Istanbul Airport <-> Sultanahmet (Old City)
Istanbul Airport <-> Taksim (Beyoglu)
Istanbul Airport <-> Sabiha Gokcen Airport
Istanbul Airport <-> Kadikoy – Atasehir – Bostanci – Umraniye
Istanbul Airport <-> Yenikapi – Aksaray, Laleli, Beyazit
Istanbul Airport <-> Besiktas – Ortakoy
Istanbul Airport <-> Sisli – Mecidiyekoy – Bomonti – Caglayan
Istanbul Airport <-> Bakirkoy – Yenibosna – Zeytinburnu
Istanbul Airport <-> Karakoy – Galata
Istanbul Airport <-> Sirkeci – Eminonu
Istanbul Airport <-> Levent – Maslak – Etiler – Zincirlikuyu

( IST ) Istanbul Airport Transfer

We specialize in delivering the highest quality ground transportation from Istanbul Airport We offer and transportation services to meet a range of customer needs and preferences

With  Limopedia
Reliable transportation is an element of any great trip, and the journey begins with the transfer from the airport to the hotel. When you reserve your Istanbul airport transfer with Limopedia, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your ride.

 

Istanbul Airport Car Service Rates

Istanbul Airport Transfer Rates 

Istanbul Airport Car Service

Book your black car service to and from istanbul Airport and Taksim and sultan Ahmed Blue mosque area airports or around town in istanbul City. Customers have a wide array of vehicle choices including, black cars, sedans, town cars, SUVs, Passenger Vans, Motos Coach Bus. Our mission is to exceed our customer’s expectations by providing a safe, high-quality, and reliable experience for travelers in Istanbul City. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, you will receive a luxury ride at its finest with professional and insured private drivers. Easily book your ride in advance with our convenient online reservations, car service app or our 24-hour phone reservation service..

Car Service Istanbul Turkey

Limopedia.com is a USA-based professional chauffeured ground transportation service offering a diverse fleet of luxury sedans, executive SUV’s and corporate vans, for all your corporate ground transportation needs and personal chauffeur services in Miami and beyond.

We offer an impressive fleet of modern vehicles and professional chauffeurs. Whether you require our Chauffeured Ground Transportation Service for business or pleasure, our experienced chauffeurs will be on hand to ensure your itinerary is completed in a timely, discreet, and comfortable manner, while saving you the most on all your ground transportation needs.
Istanbul Black Car Service

When your business or social occasion demands a professional ground transportation service for arriving at an across-town meeting, attending a special social event or simply going the extra mile to provide first-class Istanbul Chauffeured Ground Transportation for guests and clients, then look no further than Limopedia.com – where you can travel in-style while saving a bundle on all your istanbul ground transportation needs.

Don’t take a chance with fly-by-night and mediocre Istanbul car services when you can hire a leading Istanbul ground transportation service while saving the most on all your business and personal istanbul Black Car Service needs. Call us today for more info, availability of vehicles, and instant reservations.

Istanbul airport transportation

“Probably Booking best airport pickup service ever you will experience! The superb quality of care and hospitality.”

All-inclusive pricing
Count on all-inclusive rates confirmed before booking No hidden fees.

An airplane with a clock indicating time to spare.
Seamless airport travel
Relax with 1 hour of complimentary wait time and flight tracking.

An arrow goes around a clock, leaving time to spare at the top.
Ride in Istanbul flexibility
Change or cancel for free up until 4 hours prior to pickup.

Limopedia chauffeur assisting a passenger through the airport by wheeling your luggage
If you’re arriving internationally at IST Airport, plan for 40-45 minutes to get from your plane to your ride. If you’re flying domestic, expect 15-30 minutes.

Our Services Istanbul Airport Transportation -From / To Istanbul From / To Fort Lauderdale From / To Service Istanbul Airport to Istanbul Car Service Sabiha Gokcen Airport Car service, Istanbul airport Transportation 24/7

Luxury car service Istanbul

Reliable and efficient airport transfer in Istanbul the city requires little introduction. As one of the world’s most Famous Holiday cities, it’s fame spans many genres; food, business, finance, culture, architecture, and history (to name a few). Whether you are traveling to Istanbul for business or pleasure, it’s important you organize your ground transportation in advance as much as possible, including your important airport transfer to and from the airport..

Limo from Istanbul airport From/To

Whether you are staying in Istanbul, Taksim or Sultan Ahmet Old City, Limopedia is available for airport transfers city-wide, a far more reliable and relaxing alternative to a standard Istanbul airport taxi or shared airport shuttle service. In a busy and stressful city such as this, it’s nice to know that a professional Limopedia chauffeur will be waiting for you directly at the gate, to assist you with your luggage and escort you directly past the airport crowds to your waiting for private Istanbul car service best car service Istanbul airport.

Istanbul Airport Taxi Service

We provide airport taxi service from/to Istanbul Airport
We are USA Based  Local company as well as registered and serve In Turkey Together with Gulsan iletisim Dis tic LTD STI and why us as you there are lots of offers on the internet search some of them just works on commission ask them if they are located in ISTANBUL they just selling online using local chauffeurs or rideshare drivers who is not even a part of a company or any regulations be safe to use locally. ISTANBUL Airport Taxi Service 

Car service to ISTANBUL Airport

Best Istanbul Airport Car Service to, Airport Car Service in Turkey, and chauffeured transportation services. Rates and reviews  White Escalade Limo · Rolls Royce Phantom · Escalade SUV · Lincoln Stretch · Mercedes Sprinter

Limopedia Our company provides 24/7 Istanbul Airport Car service. We are proud to offer you top limo service to/from popular destinations

Miami Airport Car service MIA Airport Car service  Reviews Miami Airport Limo  Service offers Limos – Party Buses – Rolls Royce – Mercedes Sprinter and other luxurious vehicles transportation

Istanbul Airport Car Service clients are our top priority, and we want to show you the Sunshine difference, Car Service rates Miami airport, Istanbul’s best  Black Car service providing the newest, cleanest Towncars, limos, limo vans, and limo buses!

ISTANBUL info

 
Istanbul
İstanbul
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Clockwise from top: the Bosphorus Bridge connecting Europe and Asia; Maiden’s Tower; a nostalgic tram on İstiklal AvenueLevent business district; Galata TowerOrtaköy Mosque in front of the Bosphorus Bridge; and Hagia Sophia.
Emblem of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Turkey, with Istanbul pinpointed at the northwest along a thin strip of land bounded by water
Istanbul
Location within Turkey

Coordinates: 41°00′49″N 28°57′18″ECoordinates41°00′49″N 28°57′18″E
Country Turkey
Region Marmara
Province Istanbul
Provincial seat[a] Cağaloğlu, Fatih
Districts 39

Government

 
 • Type Mayor–council government
 • Body Municipal Council of Istanbul
 • Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu (CHP)
 • Governor Ali Yerlikaya

Area

 • Urban

 
2,576.85 km2 (994.93 sq mi)

 • Metro

 
5,343.22 km2 (2,063.03 sq mi)

Highest elevation

537 m (1,762 ft)

Population

 (31 December 2020)[4]
 • Megacity
Metropolitan municipality
15,462,452
 • Rank 1st in Turkey

 • Urban

 
15,149,358
 • Urban density 5,879/km2 (15,230/sq mi)
 • Metro density 2,894/km2 (7,500/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Istanbulite
(Turkishİstanbullu)
Time zone UTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code
34000 to 34990
Area code(s) +90 212 (European side)
+90 216 (Asian side)
Vehicle registration 34
GDP (Nominal) 2019[5]
 – Total US$ 237 billion
 – Per capita US$ 15,285
HDI (2019) 0.846[6] (very high) · 1st
GeoTLD .ist.istanbul
Website ibb.istanbul
www.istanbul.gov.tr
 
Official name Historic Areas of Istanbul
Criteria Cultural: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
Reference 356bis
Inscription 1985 (9th Session)
Extensions 2017
Area 765.5 ha (1,892 acres)
 

Istanbul (/ˌɪstænˈbʊl/ IST-an-BUUL,[7][8] US also /ˈɪstænbʊl/ IST-an-buulTurkishİstanbul [isˈtanbuɫ] (About this soundlisten)) is the largest city in Turkey and the country’s economic, cultural and historic center. The city straddles the Bosphorus strait, and lies in both Europe and Asia, with a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey.[4] Istanbul is the most populous city in Europe,[b] and the world’s fifteenth-largest city.

Founded as Byzantion by Megarian colonists in 657 BCE,[9] and renamed by Constantine the Great first as New Rome (Nova Roma) during the official dedication of the city as the new Roman capital in 330 CE,[9] which he soon afterwards changed as Constantinople (Constantinopolis),[9][10] the city grew in size and influence, becoming a beacon of the Silk Road and one of the most important cities in history. It served as an imperial capital for almost sixteen centuries, during the Roman/Byzantine (330–1204), Latin (1204–1261), Byzantine (1261–1453), and Ottoman (1453–1922) empires.[11] It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before its transformation to an Islamic stronghold following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE.[12] In 1923, after the Turkish War of IndependenceAnkara replaced the city as the capital of the newly formed Republic of Turkey. In 1930, the city’s name was officially changed to Istanbul, an appellation Greek speakers used since the eleventh century to colloquially refer to the city.[13]

Over 13.4 million foreign visitors came to Istanbul in 2018, eight years after it was named a European Capital of Culture, making the city the world’s fifth-most popular tourist destination.[14] Istanbul is home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and hosts the headquarters of numerous Turkish companies, accounting for more than thirty percent of the country’s economy.[15][16]

Toponymy

The first known name of the city is Byzantium (GreekΒυζάντιονByzántion), the name given to it at its foundation by Megarian colonists around 657 BCE.[9][18] Megaran colonists claimed a direct line back to the founders of the city, Byzas, the son of the god Poseidon and the nymph Ceroëssa.[18] Modern excavations has raised the possibility that the name Byzantium might reflect the sites of native Thracian settlements that preceded the fully fledged town.[19] Constantinople comes from the Latin name Constantinus, after Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor who refounded the city in 324 CE.[18] Constantinople remained the most common name for the city in the West until the 1930s, when Turkish authorities began to press for the use of “Istanbul” in foreign languages. Kostantiniyye (Ottoman Turkishقسطنطينيه‎), Be Makam-e Qonstantiniyyah al-Mahmiyyah (meaning “the Protected Location of Constantinople”) and İstanbul were the names used alternatively by the Ottomans during their rule.[20]

The name İstanbul (Turkish pronunciation: [isˈtanbuɫ] (About this soundlisten)colloquially Turkish pronunciation: [ɯsˈtambuɫ]) is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase “εἰς τὴν Πόλιν (pronounced Greek pronunciation: [is tim ˈbolin]), which means “to the city”[21] and is how Constantinople was referred to by the local Greeks. This reflected its status as the only major city in the vicinity. The importance of Constantinople in the Ottoman world was also reflected by its Ottoman nickname Der Saadet meaning the “Gate to Prosperity” in Ottoman Turkish.[22] An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from the name Constantinople, with the first and third syllables dropped.[18] Some Ottoman sources of the 17th century, such as Evliya Çelebi, describe it as the common Turkish name of the time; between the late 17th and late 18th centuries, it was also in official use. The first use of the word Islambol on coinage was in 1730 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I.[23] In modern Turkish, the name is written as İstanbul, with a dotted İ, as the Turkish alphabet distinguishes between a dotted and dotless I. In English the stress is on the first or last syllable, but in Turkish it is on the second syllable (tan).[24] A person from the city is an İstanbullu (plural: İstanbullular); Istanbulite is used in English.[25]

History

 

This large keystone might have belonged to a triumphal arch at the Forum of Constantine (present-day Çemberlitaş).[17]

Neolithic artifacts, uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that Istanbul’s historic peninsula was settled as far back as the 6th millennium BCE.[26] That early settlement, important in the spread of the Neolithic Revolution from the Near East to Europe, lasted for almost a millennium before being inundated by rising water levels.[27][26][28][29] The first human settlement on the Asian side, the Fikirtepe mound, is from the Copper Age period, with artifacts dating from 5500 to 3500 BCE,[30] On the European side, near the point of the peninsula (Sarayburnu), there was a Thracian settlement during the early 1st millennium BCE. Modern authors have linked it to the Thracian toponym Lygos,[31] mentioned by Pliny the Elder as an earlier name for the site of Byzantium.[32]

The history of the city proper begins around 660 BCE,[9][33][c] when Greek settlers from Megara established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosphorus. The settlers built an acropolis adjacent to the Golden Horn on the site of the early Thracian settlements, fueling the nascent city’s economy.[39] The city experienced a brief period of Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century BCE, but the Greeks recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars.[40] Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and its successor, the Second Athenian League, before gaining independence in 355 BCE.[41] Long allied with the Romans, Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in 73 CE.[42] Byzantium’s decision to side with the Roman usurper Pescennius Niger against Emperor Septimius Severus cost it dearly; by the time it surrendered at the end of 195 CE, two years of siege had left the city devastated.[43] Five years later, Severus began to rebuild Byzantium, and the city regained—and, by some accounts, surpassed—its previous prosperity.[44]

Rise and fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire

 

Originally built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and later rebuilt by Justinian the Great after the Nika riots in 532, the Hagia Irene is an Eastern Orthodox Church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. It is one of the few Byzantine era churches that have not been converted into mosques.

 

The construction of the Aqueduct of Valens began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II and was completed in 373 during the reign of emperor Valens.

 

The Porta Aurea (Golden Gate) of the walls of Constantinople was used by Byzantine emperors.[45]

Constantine the Great effectively became the emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire in September 324.[46] Two months later, he laid out the plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. As the eastern capital of the empire, the city was named Nova Roma; most called it Constantinople, a name that persisted into the 20th century.[47] On 11 May 330, Constantinople was proclaimed the capital of the Roman Empire, which was later permanently divided between the two sons of Theodosius I upon his death on 17 January 395, when the city became the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.[48]

The establishment of Constantinople was one of Constantine’s most lasting accomplishments, shifting Roman power eastward as the city became a center of Greek culture and Christianity.[48][49] Numerous churches were built across the city, including Hagia Sophia which was built during the reign of Justinian the Great and remained the world’s largest cathedral for a thousand years.[50] Constantine also undertook a major renovation and expansion of the Hippodrome of Constantinople; accommodating tens of thousands of spectators, the hippodrome became central to civic life and, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the center of episodes of unrest, including the Nika riots.[51][52] Constantinople’s location also ensured its existence would stand the test of time; for many centuries, its walls and seafront protected Europe against invaders from the east and the advance of Islam.[49] During most of the Middle Ages, the latter part of the Byzantine era, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city on the European continent and at times the largest in the world.[53][54]

 

Originally a church, later a mosque, the 6th-century Hagia Sophia (532–537) by Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral (1507) in Spain.

 

Created in 1422 by Cristoforo Buondelmonti, this is the oldest surviving map of Constantinople.

Constantinople began to decline continuously after the end of the reign of Basil II in 1025. The Fourth Crusade was diverted from its purpose in 1204, and the city was sacked and pillaged by the crusaders.[55] They established the Latin Empire in place of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire.[56] Hagia Sophia was converted to a Catholic church in 1204. The Byzantine Empire was restored, albeit weakened, in 1261.[57] Constantinople’s churches, defenses, and basic services were in disrepair,[58] and its population had dwindled to a hundred thousand from half a million during the 8th century.[d] After the reconquest of 1261, however, some of the city’s monuments were restored, and some, like the two Deesis mosaics in Hagia Sofia and Kariye, were created.[59]

Various economic and military policies instituted by Andronikos II, such as the reduction of military forces, weakened the empire and left it vulnerable to attack.[60] In the mid-14th-century, the Ottoman Turks began a strategy of gradually taking smaller towns and cities, cutting off Constantinople’s supply routes and strangling it slowly.[61] On 29 May 1453, after an eight-week siege (during which the last Roman emperor, Constantine XI, was killed), Sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror” captured Constantinople and declared it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire. Hours later, the sultan rode to the Hagia Sophia and summoned an imam to proclaim the Islamic creed, converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque due to the city’s refusal to surrender peacefully.[62] Mehmed declared himself as the new Kayser-i Rûm (the Ottoman Turkish equivalent of the Caesar of Rome) and the Ottoman state was reorganized into an empire.[63]

Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic eras

Following the conquest of Constantinople,[e] Mehmed II immediately set out to revitalize the city. Cognizant that revitalization would fail without the repopulation of the city, Mehmed II welcomed everyone–foreigners, criminals, and runaways– showing extraordinary openness and willingness to incorporate outsiders that came to define Ottoman political culture.[65] He also invited people from all over Europe to his capital, creating a cosmopolitan society that persisted through much of the Ottoman period.[66] Revitalizing Istanbul also required a massive program of restorations, of everything from roads to aqueducts.[67] Like many monarchs before and since, Mehmed II transformed Istanbul’s urban landscape with wholesale redevelopment of the city center.[68] There was a huge new palace to rival, if not overshadow, the old one, a new covered market (still standing as the Grand Bazaar), porticoes, pavilions, walkways, as well as more than a dozen new mosques.[67] Mehmed II turned the ramshackle old town into something that looked like an imperial capital.[68]

Social hierarchy was ignored by the rampant plague, which killed the rich and the poor alike in the sixteenth century.[69] Money could not protect the rich from all the discomforts and harsher sides of Istanbul.[69] Although the Sultan lived at a safe remove from the masses, and the wealthy and poor tended to live side by side, for the most part Istanbul was not zoned as modern cities are.[69] Opulent houses shared the same streets and districts with tiny hovels.[69] Those rich enough to have secluded country properties had a chance of escaping the periodic epidemics of sickness that blighted Istanbul.[69]

 

View of the Golden Horn and the Seraglio Point from Galata Tower

The Ottoman Dynasty claimed the status of caliphate in 1517, with Constantinople remaining the capital of this last caliphate for four centuries.[12] Suleiman the Magnificent‘s reign from 1520 to 1566 was a period of especially great artistic and architectural achievement; chief architect Mimar Sinan designed several iconic buildings in the city, while Ottoman arts of ceramicsstained glasscalligraphy, and miniature flourished.[70] The population of Constantinople was 570,000 by the end of the 18th century.[71]

A period of rebellion at the start of the 19th century led to the rise of the progressive Sultan Mahmud II and eventually to the Tanzimat period, which produced political reforms and allowed new technology to be introduced to the city.[72] Bridges across the Golden Horn were constructed during this period,[73] and Constantinople was connected to the rest of the European railway network in the 1880s.[74] Modern facilities, such as a water supply network, electricity, telephones, and trams, were gradually introduced to Constantinople over the following decades, although later than to other European cities.[75] The modernization efforts were not enough to forestall the decline of the Ottoman Empire.[76]

 
 
Two aerial photos showing the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, taken from a German zeppelin on 19 March 1918

Sultan Abdul Hamid II was deposed with the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 and the Ottoman Parliament, closed since 14 February 1878, was reopened 30 years later on 23 July 1908, which marked the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era.[77] A series of wars in the early 20th century, such as the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), plagued the ailing empire’s capital and resulted in the 1913 Ottoman coup d’état, which brought the regime of the Three Pashas.[78]

The Ottoman Empire joined World War I (1914–1918) on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated. The deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 was among the major events which marked the start of the Armenian genocide during WWI.[79] Due to Ottoman and Turkish policies of Turkification and ethnic cleansing, the city’s Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000 between 1914 and 1927.[80] The Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918 and the Allies occupied Constantinople on 13 November 1918. The Ottoman Parliament was dissolved by the Allies on 11 April 1920 and the Ottoman delegation led by Damat Ferid Pasha was forced to sign the Treaty of Sèvres on 10 August 1920.[citation needed]

 

A view of Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) in the late 1920s. Completed in 1892, the Ottoman Central Bank headquarters is seen at left. In 1995 the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to İstinye, while numerous Turkish banks have moved to Levent and Maslak.[81]

Following the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922), the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, and the last Ottoman SultanMehmed VI, was declared persona non grata. Leaving aboard the British warship HMS Malaya on 17 November 1922, he went into exile and died in SanremoItaly, on 16 May 1926. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on 24 July 1923, and the occupation of Constantinople ended with the departure of the last forces of the Allies from the city on 4 October 1923.[82] Turkish forces of the Ankara government, commanded by Şükrü Naili Pasha (3rd Corps), entered the city with a ceremony on 6 October 1923, which has been marked as the Liberation Day of Istanbul (Turkishİstanbul’un Kurtuluşu) and is commemorated every year on its anniversary.[82] On 29 October 1923 the Grand National Assembly of Turkey declared the establishment of the Turkish Republic, with Ankara as its capital. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the Republic’s first President.[83][84] According to historian Philip Mansel:

after the departure of the dynasty in 1925, from being the most international city in Europe, Constantinople became one of the most nationalistic….Unlike Vienna, Constantinople turned its back on the past. Even its name was changed. Constantinople was dropped because of its Ottoman and international associations. From 1926 the post office only accepted Istanbul; it appeared more Turkish and was used by most Turks.[85][page needed]

1942 wealth tax assessed mainly on non-Muslims led to the transfer or liquidation of many businesses owned by religious minorities.[86] From the late 1940s and early 1950s, Istanbul underwent great structural change, as new public squares, boulevards, and avenues were constructed throughout the city, sometimes at the expense of historical buildings.[87] The population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase in the 1970s, as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories that were built on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis. This sudden, sharp rise in the city’s population caused a large demand for housing, and many previously outlying villages and forests became engulfed into the metropolitan area of Istanbul.[88]

 
 

A panoramic view of the Ottoman era city from Galata Tower in the 19th century (image with notes)

Geography

 

Satellite view of Istanbul and the strait of Bosporus

Istanbul is located in north-western Turkey and straddles the strait Bosporus, which provides the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Sea of Marmara.[15] Historically, the city has been ideally situated for trade and defense: The confluence of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn provide both ideal defense against enemy attack and a natural toll-gate.[15] Several picturesque islands—BüyükadaHeybeliadaBurgazadaKınalıada, and five smaller islands—are part of the city.[15] Istanbul’s shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Large sections of Caddebostan sit on areas of landfill, increasing the total area of the city to 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi).[15]

Despite the myth that seven hills make up the city, there are in fact more than 50 hills within the city limits. Istanbul’s tallest hill, Aydos, is 537 meters (1,762 ft) high.[15]

The nearby North Anatolian Fault is responsible for much earthquake activity, although it doesn’t physically pass through the city itself.[89] The fault caused the earthquakes in 1766 and 1894.[89] The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city’s infrastructure development, with over 500,000[89] vulnerable buildings demolished and replaced since 2012.[90] The city has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, most recently in 2018,[90] requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.

Climate

 

Microclimates of Istanbul according to Köppen–Geiger classification system

 

View of Levent from Kanlıca across the Bosphorus

Istanbul has a borderline Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa, Trewartha Cs), humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa, Trewartha Cf) and oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb, Trewartha Do) under both classifications. It experiences cool winters with frequent precipitation, and warm to hot (mean temperature peaking at 20 °C (68 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F) in August, depending on location), moderately dry summers.[91] Spring and fall are usually mild, with varying conditions dependent on wind direction.[92][93]

Istanbul’s weather is strongly influenced by the Sea of Marmara to the south, and the Black Sea to the north. This moderates temperature swings and produces a mild temperate climate with low diurnal temperature variation. Consequently, Istanbul’s temperatures almost always oscillate between −5 °C (23 °F) and 32 °C (90 °F),[94] and most of the city does not experience temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) for more than 14 days a year.[95] Another effect of Istanbul’s maritime position is its persistently high dew points, near-saturation morning humidity,[96] and frequent fog,[97][94] which also limits Istanbul’s sunshine hours to levels closer to Western Europe.[98]

As Istanbul is only slightly rain shadowed from Mediterranean storms and is otherwise surrounded by water, it usually receives some amount of precipitation from both Western European and Mediterranean systems. This results in frequent precipitation during the winter months; January averages 20 days of precipitation when counting trace accumulations,[99] 17 when using a 0.1 mm threshold, and 12 when using a 1.0 mm threshold.[100]

Because of its hilly topography and maritime influences, Istanbul exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates.[101] Within the city, rainfall varies widely owing to the rain shadow of the hills in Istanbul, from around 600 millimeters (24 in) on the southern fringe at Florya to 1,200 millimeters (47 in) on the northern fringe at Bahçeköy.[102] Furthermore, while the city itself lies in USDA hardiness zones 9a to 9b, its inland suburbs lie in zone 8b with isolated pockets of zone 8a, restricting the cultivation of cold-hardy subtropical plants to the coasts.[95][103]

Despite the fact that it does not have the cold winters typical of such cities, Istanbul averages more than 60 centimeters (24 in) of snow a year, making it the snowiest major city in the Mediterranean basin.[94][104] This is largely caused by lake-effect snow, which forms when cold air, upon contact with the Black Sea, develops into moist and unstable air that ascends to form snow squalls along the lee shores of the Black Sea.[105] These snow squalls are heavy snow bands and occasionally thundersnows, with accumulation rates approaching 5–8 centimeters (2.0–3.1 in) per hour.[106]

The highest recorded temperature at the official downtown observation station in Sarıyer was 41.5 °C (107 °F) and on 13 July 2000.[105] The lowest recorded temperature was −16.1 °C (3 °F) on 9 February 1929.[105] The highest recorded snow cover in the city center was 80 centimeters (31 in) on 4 January 1942, and 104 centimeters (41 in) in the northern suburbs on 11 January 2017.[107][105][108]

hideClimate data for Kireçburnu, Istanbul (normals 1981–2010, extremes 1929–2018, snowy days 1996-2011)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 22.4
(72.3)
24.6
(76.3)
29.3
(84.7)
33.6
(92.5)
36.4
(97.5)
40.2
(104.4)
41.5
(106.7)
40.5
(104.9)
39.6
(103.3)
34.2
(93.6)
27.8
(82.0)
25.5
(77.9)
41.5
(106.7)
Average high °C (°F) 8.5
(47.3)
8.7
(47.7)
10.9
(51.6)
15.5
(59.9)
20.1
(68.2)
25.0
(77.0)
26.9
(80.4)
27.2
(81.0)
23.8
(74.8)
19.2
(66.6)
14.2
(57.6)
10.4
(50.7)
17.5
(63.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.8
(42.4)
5.5
(41.9)
7.3
(45.1)
11.2
(52.2)
15.7
(60.3)
20.5
(68.9)
22.9
(73.2)
23.4
(74.1)
19.9
(67.8)
15.8
(60.4)
11.0
(51.8)
7.8
(46.0)
13.9
(57.0)
Average low °C (°F) 3.5
(38.3)
2.9
(37.2)
4.4
(39.9)
7.8
(46.0)
12.2
(54.0)
16.7
(62.1)
19.7
(67.5)
20.4
(68.7)
16.8
(62.2)
13.2
(55.8)
8.5
(47.3)
5.5
(41.9)
11.0
(51.8)
Record low °C (°F) −13.9
(7.0)
−16.1
(3.0)
−11.1
(12.0)
−2.0
(28.4)
1.4
(34.5)
7.1
(44.8)
10.5
(50.9)
10.2
(50.4)
6.0
(42.8)
0.6
(33.1)
−7.2
(19.0)
−11.5
(11.3)
−16.1
(3.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 99.5
(3.92)
82.1
(3.23)
69.2
(2.72)
43.1
(1.70)
31.5
(1.24)
40.6
(1.60)
39.6
(1.56)
41.9
(1.65)
64.4
(2.54)
102.3
(4.03)
110.3
(4.34)
125.1
(4.93)
849.6
(33.45)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 18.4
(7.2)
19.1
(7.5)
9.9
(3.9)
trace 0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
trace 14.1
(5.6)
61.5
(24.2)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 16.9 15.2 13.2 10.0 7.4 7.0 4.7 5.1 8.1 12.3 13.9 17.5 131.3
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 cm) 4.5 4.7 2.9 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 2.7 15.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 68.2 89.6 142.6 180.0 248.0 297.6 319.3 288.3 234.0 158.1 93.0 62.0 2,180.7
Mean daily sunshine hours 2.2 3.2 4.6 6.0 8.0 9.6 10.3 9.3 7.8 5.1 3.1 2.0 5.9
Mean daily daylight hours 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 14 12 11 10 9 12
Percent possible sunshine 22 29 38 46 57 64 69 66 65 46 31 22 46
Average ultraviolet index 2 2 4 5 7 8 9 8 6 4 2 1 5
Source: [105][109][110]
Climate data for Florya, Istanbul (normals 1981–2010, extremes 1950–2021, snowy days 1990-2005)
Climate data for Bahçeköy, Istanbul (normals and extremes 1981–2010, snowy days 1990-1999)
hideClimate data for Istanbul
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average sea temperature °C (°F) 8.4
(47.1)
7.7
(45.9)
8.3
(46.9)
10.2
(50.4)
15.5
(59.9)
21.3
(70.3)
24.6
(76.3)
24.9
(76.8)
22.8
(73.0)
18.4
(65.1)
13.8
(56.8)
10.5
(50.9)
15.5
(60.0)
Source: Weather Atlas [110]

Climate change

As with virtually every part of the world, climate change is causing more heatwaves,[115] droughts,[116] storms,[117] and flooding[118][119] in Istanbul. Furthermore, as Istanbul is a large and rapidly expanding city, its urban heat island has been intensifying the effects of climate change.[94] Considering past data,[120] it is very likely that these two factors are responsible for urban Istanbul’s shift, from a warm-summer climate to a hot-summer one in the Köppen climate classification, and from the cool temperate zone to the warm temperate/subtropical zone in the Trewartha climate classification.[121][122][123] If trends continue, sea level rise is likely to affect city infrastructure, for example Kadıkoy metro station is threatened with flooding.[124] Xeriscaping of green spaces has been suggested,[125] and Istanbul has a climate-change action plan.[126]

Cityscape

 

Çırağan Palace (1867) briefly served as the Ottoman Parliament building between 14 November 1909 and 19 January 1910, when it was damaged by fire. It was restored between 1987 and 1992 and was reopened as a five-star hotel in the Kempinski Hotels chain.

 

A view of Topkapı Palace from across the Golden Horn, with the Prince Islands in the background

The Fatih district, which was named after Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (TurkishFatih Sultan Mehmed), corresponds to what was, until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the whole of the city of Constantinople (today is the capital district and called the historic peninsula of Istanbul) on the southern shore of the Golden Horn, across the medieval Genoese citadel of Galata on the northern shore. The Genoese fortifications in Galata were largely demolished in the 19th century, leaving only the Galata Tower, to make way for the northward expansion of the city.[127] Galata (Karaköy) is today a quarter within the Beyoğlu (Pera) district, which forms Istanbul’s commercial and entertainment center and includes İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square.[128]

Dolmabahçe Palace, the seat of government during the late Ottoman period, is in the Beşiktaş district on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait, to the north of Beyoğlu. The Sublime Porte (Bâb-ı Âli), which became a metonym for the Ottoman government, was originally used to describe the Imperial Gate (Bâb-ı Hümâyun) at the outermost courtyard of the Topkapı Palace; but after the 18th century, the Sublime Porte (or simply Porte) began to refer to the gate of the Sadrazamlık (Prime Ministry) compound in the Cağaloğlu quarter near Topkapı Palace, where the offices of the Sadrazam (Grand Vizier) and other Viziers were, and where foreign diplomats were received. The former village of Ortaköy is within Beşiktaş and gives its name to the Ortaköy Mosque on the Bosphorus, near the Bosphorus Bridge. Lining both the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus are the historic yalıs, luxurious chalet mansions built by Ottoman aristocrats and elites as summer homes.[129] Farther inland, outside the city’s inner ring road, are Levent and Maslak, Istanbul’s main business districts.[130]

 

Originally outside the city, yalı residences along the Bosphorus are now homes in some of Istanbul’s elite neighborhoods.

During the Ottoman period, Üsküdar (then Scutari) and Kadıköy were outside the scope of the urban area, serving as tranquil outposts with seaside yalıs and gardens. But in the second half of the 20th century, the Asian side experienced major urban growth; the late development of this part of the city led to better infrastructure and tidier urban planning when compared with most other residential areas in the city.[131] Much of the Asian side of the Bosphorus functions as a suburb of the economic and commercial centers in European Istanbul, accounting for a third of the city’s population but only a quarter of its employment.[131] As a result of Istanbul’s exponential growth in the 20th century, a significant portion of the city is composed of gecekondus (literally “built overnight”), referring to illegally constructed squatter buildings.[132] At present, some gecekondu areas are being gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds.[133] Moreover, large scale gentrification and urban renewal projects have been taking place,[134] such as the one in Tarlabaşı;[135] some of these projects, like the one in Sulukule, have faced criticism.[136] The Turkish government also has ambitious plans for an expansion of the city west and northwards on the European side in conjunction with plans for a third airport; the new parts of the city will include four different settlements with specified urban functions, housing 1.5 million people.[137]

Istanbul does not have a primary urban park, but it has several green areas. Gülhane Park and Yıldız Park were originally included within the grounds of two of Istanbul’s palaces—Topkapı Palace and Yıldız Palace—but they were repurposed as public parks in the early decades of the Turkish Republic.[138] Another park, Fethi Paşa Korusu, is on a hillside adjacent to the Bosphorus Bridge in Anatolia, opposite Yıldız Palace in Europe. Along the European side, and close to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, is Emirgan Park, which was known as the Kyparades (Cypress Forest) during the Byzantine period. In the Ottoman period, it was first granted to Nişancı Feridun Ahmed Bey in the 16th century, before being granted by Sultan Murad IV to the Safavid Emir Gûne Han in the 17th century, hence the name Emirgan. The 47-hectare (120-acre) park was later owned by Khedive Ismail Pasha of Ottoman Egypt and Sudan in the 19th century. Emirgan Park is known for its diversity of plants and an annual tulip festival is held there since 2005.[139] The AKP government’s decision to replace Taksim Gezi Park with a replica of the Ottoman era Taksim Military Barracks (which was transformed into the Taksim Stadium in 1921, before being demolished in 1940 for building Gezi Park) sparked a series of nationwide protests in 2013 covering a wide range of issues. Popular during the summer among Istanbulites is Belgrad Forest, spreading across 5,500 hectares (14,000 acres) at the northern edge of the city. The forest originally supplied water to the city and remnants of reservoirs used during Byzantine and Ottoman times survive.[140][141]

 
 

Panoramic view of Istanbul from the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. Several landmarks—including Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Hagia SophiaTopkapı Palace, and Dolmabahçe Palace—can be seen along their shores.

Architecture

 

Sultan Ahmed Mosque is known as the Blue Mosque due to the blue İznik tiles which adorn its interior.[142] The Obelisk of Thutmose III (Obelisk of Theodosius) is seen in the foreground.

 

Galata Tower dominates the skyline of the medieval Genoese citadel at the north of the Golden Horn.

Istanbul is primarily known for its Byzantine and Ottoman architecture, and despite its development as a Turkish city since 1453, contains a vast array of ancient, Roman, Byzantine, Christian, Muslim and Jewish monuments.

The Neolithic settlement in the Yenikapı quarter on the European side, which dates back to c. 6500 BCE and predates the formation of the Bosporus strait by approximately a millennium (when the Sea of Marmara was still a lake)[143] was discovered during the construction of the Marmaray railway tunnel.[26] It is the oldest known human settlement on the European side of the city.[26] The oldest known human settlement on the Asian side is the Fikirtepe Mound near Kadıköy, with relics dating to c. 5500-3500 BCE (Chalcolithic period).

 

The lower walls of the Sphendone, the curved grandstand[144][145] of the Hippodrome, which was originally built by the Roman emperor Septimius Severus in the early 3rd century and was later enlarged by emperor Constantine the Great.

There are numerous ancient monuments in the city.[146] The most ancient is the Obelisk of Thutmose III (Obelisk of Theodosius).[146] Built of red granite, 31 m (100 ft) high, it came from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, and was erected there by Pharaoh Thutmose III (r. 1479–1425 BCE) to the south of the seventh pylon.[146] The Roman emperor Constantius II (r. 337–361 CE) had it and another obelisk transported along the River Nile to Alexandria for commemorating his ventennalia or 20 years on the throne in 357. The other obelisk was erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus in Rome in the autumn of that year, and is now known as the Lateran Obelisk. The obelisk that would become the Obelisk of Theodosius remained in Alexandria until 390 CE, when Theodosius I (r. 379–395 CE) had it transported to Constantinople and put up on the spina of the Hippodrome there.[147] When re-erected at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the obelisk was mounted on a decorative base, with reliefs that depict Theodosius I and his courtiers.[146] The lower part of the obelisk was damaged in antiquity, probably during its transport to Alexandria in 357 CE or during its re-erection at the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 390 CE. As a result, the current height of the obelisk is only 18.54 meters, or 25.6 meters if the base is included. Between the four corners of the obelisk and the pedestal are four bronze cubes, used in its transportation and re-erection.[148]

Next in age is the Serpent Column, from 479 BCE.[146] It was brought from Delphi in 324 CE, during the reign of Constantine the Great, and also erected at the spina of the Hippodrome.[146] It was originally part of an ancient Greek sacrificial tripod in Delphi that was erected to commemorate the Greeks who fought and defeated the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE). The three serpent heads of the 8-meter (26 ft) high column remained intact until the end of the 17th century (one is on display at the nearby Istanbul Archaeology Museums).[149]

Built in porphyry and erected at the center of the Forum of Constantine in 330 CE to mark the founding of the new Roman capital, the Column of Constantine was originally adorned with a sculpture of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great depicted as the solar god Apollo on its top, which fell in 1106 and was later replaced by a cross during the reign of Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenos (r. 1143–1180).[17][146]

There are traces of the Byzantine era throughout the city, from ancient churches that were built over early Christian meeting places like the Hagia Irene, the Chora Church, the Monastery of Stoudios, the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos, the Monastery of the Pantocrator, the Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes, the Hagia Theodosia, the Church of Theotokos Kyriotissa, the Monastery of Constantine Lips, the Church of Myrelaion, the Hagios Theodoros, etc.; to public places like the Hippodrome, the Augustaion, or the Basilica Cistern. The 4th century Harbor of Theodosius in Yenikapı, once the busiest port in Constantinople, was among the numerous archeological discoveries that took place during the excavations of the Marmaray tunnel.[26]

 
 
 
 
Built by Ottoman sultans Abdülmecid and Abdülaziz, the 19th-century DolmabahçeÇırağanBeylerbeyi and Küçüksu palaces on the Bosporus were designed by members of the Armenian Balyan family of court architects.[150]

It is the Hagia Sophia, however, that fully conveys the period of Constantinople as a city without parallel in Christendom. The Hagia Sophia, topped by a dome 31 meters (102 ft) in diameter over a square space defined by four arches, is the pinnacle of Byzantine architecture.[151] The Hagia Sophia stood as the world’s largest cathedral in the world until it was converted into a mosque in the 15th century.[151] The minarets date from that period.[151] Because of its historical significance, it was reopened as a museum in 1935. However, it was re-converted into a mosque in July 2020.

Over the next four centuries, the Ottomans transformed Istanbul’s urban landscape with a vast building scheme that included the construction of towering mosques and ornate palaces. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), another landmark of the city, faces the Hagia Sophia at Sultanahmet Square (Hippodrome of Constantinople). The Süleymaniye Mosque, built by Suleiman the Magnificent, was designed by his chief architect Mimar Sinan, the most illustrious of all Ottoman architects, who designed many of the city’s renowned mosques and other types of public buildings and monuments.[152]

Among the oldest surviving examples of Ottoman architecture in Istanbul are the Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı fortresses, which assisted the Ottomans during their siege of the city.[153] Over the next four centuries, the Ottomans made an indelible impression on the skyline of Istanbul, building towering mosques and ornate palaces.

Topkapı Palace, dating back to 1465, is the oldest seat of government surviving in Istanbul. Mehmed the Conqueror built the original palace as his main residence and the seat of government.[154] The present palace grew over the centuries as a series of additions enfolding four courtyards and blending neoclassicalrococo, and baroque architectural forms.[155] In 1639, Murad IV made some of the most lavish additions, including the Baghdad Kiosk, to commemorate his conquest of Baghdad the previous year.[156] Government meetings took place here until 1786, when the seat of government was moved to the Sublime Porte.[154] After several hundred years of royal residence, it was abandoned in 1853 in favor of the baroque Dolmabahçe Palace.[155] Topkapı Palace became public property following the abolition of monarchy in 1922.[155] After extensive renovation, it became one of Turkey’s first national museums in 1924.[154]

The imperial mosques include Fatih MosqueBayezid MosqueYavuz Selim MosqueSüleymaniye MosqueSultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque), and Yeni Mosque, all of which were built at the peak of the Ottoman Empire, in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the following centuries, and especially after the Tanzimat reforms, Ottoman architecture was supplanted by European styles.[157] An example of which is the imperial Nuruosmaniye Mosque. Areas around İstiklal Avenue were filled with grand European embassies and rows of buildings in Neoclassical, Renaissance Revival and Art Nouveau styles, which went on to influence the architecture of a variety of structures in Beyoğlu—including churches, stores, and theaters—and official buildings such as Dolmabahçe Palace.[158]

Administration

 

Istanbul’s districts extend far from the city center, along the full length of the Bosphorus (with the Black Sea at the top and the Sea of Marmara at the bottom of the map).

Since 2004, the municipal boundaries of Istanbul have been coincident with the boundaries of its province.[159] The city, considered capital of the larger Istanbul Province, is administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI), which oversees the 39 districts of the city-province.

The current city structure can be traced back to the Tanzimat period of reform in the 19th century, before which Islamic judges and imams led the city under the auspices of the Grand Vizier. Following the model of French cities, this religious system was replaced by a mayor and a citywide council composed of representatives of the confessional groups (millet) across the city. Pera (now Beyoğlu) was the first area of the city to have its own director and council, with members instead being longtime residents of the neighborhood.[160] Laws enacted after the Ottoman constitution of 1876 aimed to expand this structure across the city, imitating the twenty arrondissements of Paris, but they were not fully implemented until 1908, when the city was declared a province with nine constituent districts.[161][162] This system continued beyond the founding of the Turkish Republic, with the province renamed a belediye (municipality), but the municipality was disbanded in 1957.[163]

 

Statue of Atatürk in Büyükada, the largest of the Prince Islands to the southeast of Istanbul, which collectively form the Adalar (Isles) district of Istanbul Province

Small settlements adjacent to major population centers in Turkey, including Istanbul, were merged into their respective primary cities during the early 1980s, resulting in metropolitan municipalities.[164][165] The main decision-making body of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is the Municipal Council, with members drawn from district councils.

The Municipal Council is responsible for citywide issues, including managing the budget, maintaining civic infrastructure, and overseeing museums and major cultural centers.[166] Since the government operates under a “powerful mayor, weak council” approach, the council’s leader—the metropolitan mayor—has the authority to make swift decisions, often at the expense of transparency.[167] The Municipal Council is advised by the Metropolitan Executive Committee, although the committee also has limited power to make decisions of its own.[168] All representatives on the committee are appointed by the metropolitan mayor and the council, with the mayor—or someone of his or her choosing—serving as head.[168][169]

District councils are chiefly responsible for waste management and construction projects within their respective districts. They each maintain their own budgets, although the metropolitan mayor reserves the right to review district decisions. One-fifth of all district council members, including the district mayors, also represent their districts in the Municipal Council.[166] All members of the district councils and the Municipal Council, including the metropolitan mayor, are elected to five-year terms.[170] Representing the Republican People’s PartyEkrem İmamoğlu has been the Mayor of Istanbul since 27 June 2019.[171]

 

A view of Taksim Square with the Republic Monument (1928) designed by Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica and Taksim Mosque

With the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Istanbul Province having equivalent jurisdictions, few responsibilities remain for the provincial government. Similar to the MMI, the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration has a governor, a democratically elected decision-making body—the Provincial Parliament—and an appointed Executive Committee. Mirroring the executive committee at the municipal level, the Provincial Executive Committee includes a secretary-general and leaders of departments that advise the Provincial Parliament.[169][172] The Provincial Administration’s duties are largely limited to the building and maintenance of schools, residences, government buildings, and roads, and the promotion of arts, culture, and nature conservation.[173] Ali Yerlikaya has been the Governor of Istanbul Province since 26 October 2018.[174]

Demographics

Historical populations
Pre-Republic
Year Pop.
100 36,000
361 300,000
500 400,000
7th c. 150–350,000
8th c. 125–500,000
9th c. 50–250,000
1000 150–300,000
1100 200,000
1200 150,000
1261 100,000
1350 80,000
1453 45,000
1500 200,000
1550 660,000
1700 700,000
1815 500,000
1860 715,000
1890 874,000
1900 942,900
Republic
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1925 881,000 —    
1927 691,000 −11.44%
1935 740,800 +0.87%
1940 793,900 +1.39%
1945 845,300 +1.26%
1950 983,000 +3.06%
1960 1,459,500 +4.03%
1965 1,743,000 +3.61%
1970 2,132,400 +4.12%
1975 2,547,400 +3.62%
1980 2,853,500 +2.30%
1985 5,494,900 +14.00%
1990 6,620,200 +3.80%
1994 7,615,500 +3.56%
1997 8,260,400 +2.75%
2000 8,831,800 +2.25%
2007 11,174,200 +3.42%
2015 14,657,434 +3.45%
2016 14,804,116 +1.00%
2017 15,029,231 +1.52%
2018 15,067,724 +0.26%
2019 15,519,267 +3.00%
Sources: Jan Lahmeyer 2004,Chandler 1987Morris 2010,Turan 2010[175]
Pre-Republic figures estimated[d]

Throughout most of its history, Istanbul has ranked among the largest cities in the world. By 500 CE, Constantinople had somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 people, edging out its predecessor, Rome, for the world’s largest city.[177] Constantinople jostled with other major historical cities, such as BaghdadChang’anKaifeng and Merv for the position of the world’s largest city until the 12th century. It never returned to being the world’s largest, but remained the largest city in Europe from 1500 to 1750, when it was surpassed by London.[178]

The Turkish Statistical Institute estimates that the population of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality was 15,519,267 at the end of 2019, hosting 19 percent of the country’s population.[179] 64.4% of the residents live on the European side and 35.6% on the Asian side.[179]

Istanbul ranks as the seventh-largest city proper in the world, and the second-largest urban agglomeration in Europe, after Moscow.[180][181] The city’s annual population growth of 1.5 percent ranks as one of the highest among the seventy-eight largest metropolises in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The high population growth mirrors an urbanization trend across the country, as the second and third fastest-growing OECD metropolises are the Turkish cities of Izmir and Ankara.[16]

Istanbul experienced especially rapid growth during the second half of the 20th century, with its population increasing tenfold between 1950 and 2000.[182] This growth was fueled by internal and international migration. Istanbul’s foreign population with a residence permit increased dramatically, from 43,000 in 2007[183] to 856,377 in 2019.[184][185]

Religious and ethnic groups

 

Built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Süleymaniye Mosque (1550–1557) was designed by his chief architect Mimar Sinan, the most illustrious of all Ottoman architects.[152]

Istanbul has been a cosmopolitan city throughout much of its history, but it has become more homogenized since the end of the Ottoman era. Arabs form one of the city’s largest ethnic minorities, with an estimated population of more than 2 million.[186] Following Turkey’s support for the Arab Spring, Istanbul emerged as a hub for dissidents from across the Arab world, including former presidential candidates from Egypt, Kuwaiti MPs, and former ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia (including Jamal Khashoggi), Syria, and Yemen.[187][188][189] The number of refugees of the Syrian Civil War in Turkey residing in Istanbul is estimated to be around 1 million.[190]

With estimates ranging from 2 to 4 million, Kurds form the other largest ethnic minority in Istanbul.[191][192] According to a 2006 KONDA study, Kurds constituted 14.8% of Istanbul’s total population.[193] Although the Kurdish presence in the city dates back to the early Ottoman period,[194] the majority of Kurds in the city originate from villages in eastern and southeastern Turkey.[195]

Into the 19th century, the Christians of Istanbul tended to be either Greek Orthodox, members of the Armenian Apostolic Church or Catholic Levantines.[196] Greeks and Armenians form the largest Christian population in the city. While Istanbul’s Greek population was exempted from the 1923 population exchange with Greece, changes in tax status and the 1955 anti-Greek pogrom prompted thousands to leave.[197] Following Greek migration to the city for work in the 2010s, the Greek population rose to nearly 3,000 in 2019, still greatly diminished since 1919, when it stood at 350,000.[197] There are today 123,363 Armenians in Istanbul, down from a peak of 164,000 in 1913.[198] As of 2019, an estimated 18,000 of the country’s 25,000 Christian Assyrians live in Istanbul.[199]

 

There are 234 active churches in the city,[200] including the Church of St. Anthony of Padua on İstiklal Avenue, in the district of Beyoğlu (Pera).

The majority of the Catholic Levantines (Turkish: Levanten) in Istanbul and Izmir are the descendants of traders/colonists from the Italian maritime republics of the Mediterranean (especially Genoa and Venice) and France, who obtained special rights and privileges called the Capitulations from the Ottoman sultans in the 16th century.[201] The community had more than 15,000 members during Atatürk‘s presidency in the 1920s and 1930s, but today is reduced to only a few hundreds, according to Italo-Levantine writer Giovanni Scognamillo.[202] They continue to live in Istanbul (mostly in KaraköyBeyoğlu and Nişantaşı), and Izmir (mostly in KarşıyakaBornova and Buca).

Istanbul became one of the world’s most important Jewish centers in the 16th and 17th century.[203] Romaniote and Ashkenazi communities existed in Istanbul before the conquest of Istanbul, but it was the arrival of Sephardic Jews that ushered a period of cultural flourishing. Sephardic Jews settled in the city after their expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and 1497.[203] Sympathetic to the plight of Sephardic Jews, Bayezid II sent out the Ottoman Navy under the command of admiral Kemal Reis to Spain in 1492 in order to evacuate them safely to Ottoman lands.[203] In marked contrast to Jews in EuropeOttoman Jews were allowed to work in any profession.[204] Ottoman Jews in Istanbul excelled in commerce, and came to particularly dominate the medical profession.[204] By 1711, using the printing press, books came to be published in Spanish and Ladino, Yiddish, and Hebrew.[205] In large part due to emigration to Israel, the Jewish population in the city dropped from 100,000 in 1950[206] to 25,000 in 2020.

Politics

 

Ekrem İmamoğlu of the CHP is the 32nd and current Mayor of Istanbulelected in 2019.

Politically, Istanbul is seen as the most important administrative region in Turkey. Many politicians, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are of the view that a political party’s performance in Istanbul is more significant than its general performance overall. This is due to the city’s role as Turkey’s financial center, its large electorate and the fact that Erdoğan himself was elected Mayor of Istanbul in 1994.[citation needed] In the run-up to local elections in 2019, Erdoğan claimed ‘if we fail in Istanbul, we will fail in Turkey’.[207]

The contest in Istanbul carried deep political, economic and symbolic significance for Erdoğan, whose election of mayor of Istanbul in 1994 had served as his launchpad.[208] For Ekrem İmamoğlu, winning the mayorship of Istanbul was a huge moral victory, but for Erdoğan it had practical ramifications: His party, AKP, lost control of the $4.8 billion municipal budget, which had sustained patronage at the point of delivery of many public services for 25 years.[209]

More recently, Istanbul and many of Turkey’s metropolitan cities are following a trend away from the government and their right-wing ideology. In 2013 and 2014, large-scale anti-AKP government protests began in İstanbul and spread throughout the nation. This trend first became evident electorally in the 2014 mayoral election where the center-left opposition candidate won an impressive 40% of the vote, despite not winning. The first government defeat in Istanbul occurred in the 2017 constitutional referendum, where Istanbul voted ‘No’ by 51.4% to 48.6%. The AKP government had supported a ‘Yes’ vote and won the vote nationally due to high support in rural parts of the country. The biggest defeat for the government came in the 2019 local elections, where their candidate for Mayor, former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, was defeated by a very narrow margin by the opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu won the vote with 48.77% of the vote, against Yıldırım’s 48.61%. Similar trends and electoral successes for the opposition were also replicated in AnkaraIzmirAntalyaMersinAdana and other metropolitan areas of Turkey.[citation needed]

Administratively, Istanbul is divided into 39 districts, more than any other province in Turkey. Istanbul Province sends 98 Members of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which has a total of 600 seats. For the purpose of parliamentary elections, Istanbul is divided into three electoral districts; two on the European side and one on the Asian side, electing 28, 35 and 35 MPs respectively.[citation needed]

Economy

 
 

A view of Dolmabahçe Palace and the skyscrapers of Levent financial district in the background.[210][211] Providing the only sea route to the Black Sea, the Bosporus is the world’s busiest waterway that is used for international navigation.[15]

 

A view of Levent[210][211] financial district from Istanbul Sapphire. Levent, MaslakŞişli and Ataşehir are the main business districts in the city.

Istanbul had the eleventh-largest economy among the world’s urban areas in 2018, and is responsible for 30 percent of Turkey’s industrial output,[212] 31 percent of GDP,[212] and 47 percent of tax revenues.[212] The city’s gross domestic product adjusted by PPP stood at US$537.507 billion in 2018,[213] with manufacturing and services accounting for 36 percent and 60 percent of the economic output respectively.[212] Istanbul’s productivity is 110 percent higher than the national average.[212] Trade is economically important, accounting for 30 percent of the economic output in the city.[15] In 2019, companies based in Istanbul produced exports worth $83.66 billion and received imports totaling $128.34 billion; these figures were equivalent to 47 percent and 61 percent, respectively, of the national totals.[214]

Istanbul, which straddles the Bosporus strait, houses international ports that link Europe and Asia. The Bosporus, providing the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, is the world’s busiest and narrowest strait used for international navigation, with more than 200 million tons of oil passing through it each year.[215] International conventions guarantee passage between the Black and the Mediterranean seas,[216] even when tankers carry oil, LNG/LPG, chemicals, and other flammable or explosive materials as cargo. In 2011, as a workaround solution, the then Prime Minister Erdoğan presented Canal Istanbul, a project to open a new strait between the Black and Marmara seas.[216] While the project was still on Turkey’s agenda in 2020, there has not been a clear date set for it.[15]

 

İstiklal Avenue is visited by nearly three million people on weekend days.

Shipping is a significant part of the city’s economy, with 73.9 percent of exports and 92.7 percent of imports in 2018 executed by sea.[15] Istanbul has three major shipping ports – the Port of Haydarpaşa, the Port of Ambarlı, and the Port of Zeytinburnu – as well as several smaller ports and oil terminals along the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara.[15] Haydarpaşa, at the southeastern end of the Bosporus, was Istanbul’s largest port until the early 2000s.[217] Since then operations were shifted to Ambarlı, with plans to convert Haydarpaşa into a tourism complex.[15] In 2019, Ambarlı, on the western edge of the urban center, had an annual capacity of 3,104,882 TEUs, making it the third-largest cargo terminal in the Mediterranean basin.[217]

Istanbul has been an international banking hub since the 1980s,[15] and is home to the only stock exchange in Turkey. Borsa Istanbul was originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange in 1866.[218] In 1995, keeping up with the financial trends, Borsa Istanbul has moved its headquarters from Bankalar Caddesi – traditionally the financial center of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey,[218] – to the district of Maslak, which hosts the headquarters of the majority of Turkish banks.[219] By 2022,[220] Borsa Istanbul is scheduled to move to a new planned district in Ataşehir, which will host the headquarters of Turkish banks, including the Central Bank that is currently headquartered in Ankara.[221] Whereas 2.4 million foreigners visited the city in 2000,[citation needed] there were 13.4 million foreign tourists in 2018, making Istanbul the world’s fifth most-visited city.[14] Istanbul is, after Antalya, Turkey’s second-largest international gateway, receiving a quarter of the nation’s foreign tourists. Istanbul has more than fifty museums, with Topkapı Palace, the most visited museum in the city, bringing in more than $30 million in revenue each year.[15]

Culture

 

Yalı houses on the Bosporus are among the frequently used settings in Turkish television dramas (dizi).

Istanbul was historically known as a cultural hub, but its cultural scene stagnated after the Turkish Republic shifted its focus toward Ankara.[222] The new national government established programs that served to orient Turks toward musical traditions, especially those originating in Europe, but musical institutions and visits by foreign classical artists were primarily centered in the new capital.[223]

Much of Turkey’s cultural scene had its roots in Istanbul, and by the 1980s and 1990s Istanbul reemerged globally as a city whose cultural significance is not solely based on its past glory.[224]

By the end of the 19th century, Istanbul had established itself as a regional artistic center, with Turkish, European, and Middle Eastern artists flocking to the city. Despite efforts to make Ankara Turkey’s cultural heart, Istanbul had the country’s primary institution of art until the 1970s.[225] When additional universities and art journals were founded in Istanbul during the 1980s, artists formerly based in Ankara moved in.[226]

 

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums, founded by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1891, form Turkey’s oldest modern museum.[227]

Beyoğlu has been transformed into the artistic center of the city, with young artists and older Turkish artists formerly residing abroad finding footing there. Modern art museums, including İstanbul Modern, the Pera MuseumSakıp Sabancı Museum and SantralIstanbul, opened in the 2000s to complement the exhibition spaces and auction houses that have already contributed to the cosmopolitan nature of the city.[228] These museums have yet to attain the popularity of older museums on the historic peninsula, including the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, which ushered in the era of modern museums in Turkey, and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.[227]

The first film screening in Turkey was at Yıldız Palace in 1896, a year after the technology publicly debuted in Paris.[229] Movie theaters rapidly cropped up in Beyoğlu, with the greatest concentration of theaters being along the street now known as İstiklal Avenue.[230] Istanbul also became the heart of Turkey’s nascent film industry, although Turkish films were not consistently developed until the 1950s.[231] Since then, Istanbul has been the most popular location to film Turkish dramas and comedies.[232] The Turkish film industry ramped up in the second half of the century, and with Uzak (2002) and My Father and My Son (2005), both filmed in Istanbul, the nation’s movies began to see substantial international success.[233] Istanbul and its picturesque skyline have also served as a backdrop for several foreign films, including From Russia with Love (1963), Topkapi (1964), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Mission Istaanbul (2008).[234]

Coinciding with this cultural reemergence was the establishment of the Istanbul Festival, which began showcasing a variety of art from Turkey and around the world in 1973. From this flagship festival came the International Istanbul Film Festival and the Istanbul International Jazz Festival in the early 1980s. With its focus now solely on music and dance, the Istanbul Festival has been known as the Istanbul International Music Festival since 1994.[235] The most prominent of the festivals that evolved from the original Istanbul Festival is the Istanbul Biennial, held every two years since 1987. Its early incarnations were aimed at showcasing Turkish visual art, and it has since opened to international artists and risen in prestige to join the elite biennales, alongside the Venice Biennale and the São Paulo Art Biennial.[236]

Leisure and entertainment

 

Ataşehir is a business and trading centre and hosts the headquarters and offices of numerous companies.

Istanbul has numerous shopping centers, from the historic to the modern. The Grand Bazaar, in operation since 1461, is among the world’s oldest and largest covered markets.[237][238] Mahmutpasha Bazaar is an open-air market extending between the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Bazaar, which has been Istanbul’s major spice market since 1660. Galleria Ataköy ushered in the age of modern shopping malls in Turkey when it opened in 1987.[239] Since then, malls have become major shopping centers outside the historic peninsula. Akmerkez was awarded the titles of “Europe’s best” and “World’s best” shopping mall by the International Council of Shopping Centers in 1995 and 1996; Istanbul Cevahir has been one of the continent’s largest since opening in 2005; Kanyon won the Cityscape Architectural Review Award in the Commercial Built category in 2006.[238] İstinye Park in İstinye and Zorlu Center near Levent are among the newest malls which include the stores of the world’s top fashion brands. Abdi İpekçi Street in Nişantaşı and Bağdat Avenue on the Anatolian side of the city have evolved into high-end shopping districts.[240][241]

Istanbul is known for its historic seafood restaurants. Many of the city’s most popular and upscale seafood restaurants line the shores of the Bosphorus (particularly in neighborhoods like OrtaköyBebekArnavutköyYeniköyBeylerbeyi and Çengelköy). Kumkapı along the Sea of Marmara has a pedestrian zone that hosts around fifty fish restaurants.[242] The Princes’ Islands, 15 kilometers (9 mi) from the city center, are also popular for their seafood restaurants. Because of their restaurants, historic summer mansions, and tranquil, car-free streets, the Prince Islands are a popular vacation destination among Istanbulites and foreign tourists.[243] Istanbul is also famous for its sophisticated and elaborately-cooked dishes of the Ottoman cuisine. Following the influx of immigrants from southeastern and eastern Turkey, which began in the 1960s, the foodscape of the city has drastically changed by the end of the century; with influences of Middle Eastern cuisine such as kebab taking an important place in the food scene. Restaurants featuring foreign cuisines are mainly concentrated in the BeyoğluBeşiktaşŞişli, and Kadıköy districts.

Istanbul has active nightlife and historic taverns, a signature characteristic of the city for centuries if not millennia. Along İstiklal Avenue is the Çiçek Pasajı, now home to winehouses (known as meyhanes), pubs, and restaurants.[244] İstiklal Avenue, originally known for its taverns, has shifted toward shopping, but the nearby Nevizade Street is still lined with winehouses and pubs.[245][246] Some other neighborhoods around İstiklal Avenue have been revamped to cater to Beyoğlu’s nightlife, with formerly commercial streets now lined with pubs, cafes, and restaurants playing live music.[247] Other focal points for Istanbul’s nightlife include NişantaşıOrtaköyBebek, and Kadıköy.[248]

Sports

Istanbul is home to some of Turkey’s oldest sports clubsBeşiktaş JK, established in 1903, is considered the oldest of these sports clubs. Due to its initial status as Turkey’s only club, Beşiktaş occasionally represented the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic in international sports competitions, earning the right to place the Turkish flag inside its team logo.[249] Galatasaray SK and Fenerbahçe SK have fared better in international competitions and have won more Süper Lig titles, at 22 and 19 times, respectively.[250][251][252] Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe have a long-standing rivalry, with Galatasaray based in the European part and Fenerbahçe based in the Anatolian part of the city.[251] Istanbul has seven basketball teams—Anadolu EfesBeşiktaşDarüşşafakaFenerbahçeGalatasarayİstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor and Büyükçekmece—that play in the premier-level Turkish Basketball Super League.[253]

Many of Istanbul’s sports facilities have been built or upgraded since 2000 to bolster the city’s bids for the Summer Olympic GamesAtatürk Olympic Stadium, the largest multi-purpose stadium in Turkey, was completed in 2002 as an IAAF first-class venue for track and field.[254] The stadium hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, and was selected by the UEFA to host the CL Final games of 2020 and 2021, which were relocated to Lisbon (2020) and Porto (2021) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[255] Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Fenerbahçe’s home field, hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final three years after its completion. Türk Telekom Arena opened in 2011 to replace Ali Sami Yen Stadium as Galatasaray’s home turf,[256][257] while Vodafone Park, opened in 2016 to replace BJK İnönü Stadium as the home turf of Beşiktaş, hosted the 2019 UEFA Super Cup game. All four stadiums are elite Category 4 (formerly five-star) UEFA stadiums.[f]

The Sinan Erdem Dome, among the largest indoor arenas in Europe, hosted the final of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, as well as the 2011–12 Euroleague and 2016–17 EuroLeague Final Fours.[261] Prior to the completion of the Sinan Erdem Dome in 2010, Abdi İpekçi Arena was Istanbul’s primary indoor arena, having hosted the finals of EuroBasket 2001.[262] Several other indoor arenas, including the Beşiktaş Akatlar Arena, have also been inaugurated since 2000, serving as the home courts of Istanbul’s sports clubs. The most recent of these is the 13,800-seat Ülker Sports Arena, which opened in 2012 as the home court of Fenerbahçe’s basketball teams.[263] Despite the construction boom, five bids for the Summer Olympics—in 2000200420082012, and 2020—and national bids for UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016 have ended unsuccessfully.[264]

The TVF Burhan Felek Sport Hall is one of the major volleyball arenas in the city and hosts clubs such as Eczacıbaşı VitrAVakıfbank SK, and Fenerbahçe who have won numerous European and World Championship titles.[citation needed]

Between the 2005–2011 seasons,[265] and in the 2020 season,[266] Istanbul Park racing circuit hosted the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix. The 2021 F1 Turkish Grand Prix was initially cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[267] but on June 25, 2021, it was announced that the 2021 F1 Turkish Grand Prix will take place on October 3, 2021.[268] Istanbul Park was also a venue of the World Touring Car Championship and the European Le Mans Series in 2005 and 2006, but the track has not seen either of these competitions since then.[269][270] It also hosted the Turkish Motorcycle Grand Prix between 2005 and 2007. Istanbul was occasionally a venue of the F1 Powerboat World Championship, with the last race on the Bosphorus strait on 12–13 August 2000.[271][unreliable source?] The last race of the Powerboat P1 World Championship on the Bosphorus took place on 19–21 June 2009.[272] Istanbul Sailing Club, established in 1952, hosts races and other sailing events on the waterways in and around Istanbul each year.[273][274]

Media

 

Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower is the tallest structure in the city.

Most state-run radio and television stations are based in Ankara, but Istanbul is the primary hub of Turkish media. The industry has its roots in the former Ottoman capital, where the first Turkish newspaper, Takvim-i Vekayi (Calendar of Affairs), was published in 1831. The Cağaloğlu street on which the newspaper was printed, Bâb-ı Âli Street, rapidly became the center of Turkish print media, alongside Beyoğlu across the Golden Horn.[275]

Istanbul now has a wide variety of periodicals. Most nationwide newspapers are based in Istanbul, with simultaneous Ankara and İzmir editions.[276] HürriyetSabahPosta and Sözcü, the country’s top four papers, are all headquartered in Istanbul, boasting more than 275,000 weekly sales each.[277] Hürriyet’s English-language edition, Hürriyet Daily News, has been printed since 1961, but the English-language Daily Sabah, first published by Sabah in 2014, has overtaken it in circulation. Several smaller newspapers, including popular publications like CumhuriyetMilliyet and Habertürk are also based in Istanbul.[276] Istanbul also has long-running Armenian language newspapers, notably the dailies Marmara and Jamanak and the bilingual weekly Agos in Armenian and Turkish.[citation needed]

 

TRT Istanbul Radio

Radio broadcasts in Istanbul date back to 1927, when Turkey’s first radio transmission came from atop the Central Post Office in Eminönü. Control of this transmission, and other radio stations established in the following decades, ultimately came under the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), which held a monopoly on radio and television broadcasts between its founding in 1964 and 1990.[278] Today, TRT runs four national radio stations; these stations have transmitters across the country so each can reach over 90 percent of the country’s population, but only Radio 2 is based in Istanbul. Offering a range of content from educational programming to coverage of sporting events, Radio 2 is the most popular radio station in Turkey.[278] Istanbul’s airwaves are the busiest in Turkey, primarily featuring either Turkish-language or English-language content. One of the exceptions, offering both, is Açık Radyo (94.9 FM). Among Turkey’s first private stations, and the first featuring foreign popular music, was Istanbul’s Metro FM (97.2 FM). The state-run Radio 3, although based in Ankara, also features English-language popular music, and English-language news programming is provided on NTV Radyo (102.8 FM).[279]

TRT-Children is the only TRT television station based in Istanbul.[280] Istanbul is home to the headquarters of several Turkish stations and regional headquarters of international media outlets. Istanbul-based Star TV was the first private television network to be established following the end of the TRT monopoly; Star TV and Show TV (also based in Istanbul) remain highly popular throughout the country, airing Turkish and American series.[281] Kanal D and ATV are other stations in Istanbul that offer a mix of news and series; NTV (partnered with U.S. media outlet MSNBC) and Sky Turk—both based in the city—are mainly just known for their news coverage in Turkish. The BBC has a regional office in Istanbul, assisting its Turkish-language news operations, and the American news channel CNN established the Turkish-language CNN Türk there in 1999.[282]

Education

 

Main entrance gate of Istanbul University, the city’s oldest Turkish institution, established in 1453.

In 2015, more than 57,000 students attended 7,934 schools,[283] including the renowned Galatasaray High SchoolKabataş Erkek Lisesi, and Istanbul LisesiGalatasaray High School was established in 1481 and is the oldest public high school in Turkey.[283]

Some of the most renowned and highly ranked universities in Turkey are in Istanbul. Istanbul University, the nation’s oldest institute of higher education, dates back to 1453 and its dental, law, medical schools were founded in the nineteenth century.

Istanbul has more than 93 colleges and universities,[283] with 400,000 students[284] enrolled in 2016. The city’s largest private universities include Sabancı University, with its main campus in TuzlaKoç University in SarıyerÖzyeğin Üniversitesi near Altunizade. Istanbul’s first private university, Koç University, was founded as late as 1992, because private universities were officially outlawed in Turkey before the 1982 amendment to the constitution.[283]

Four public universities with a major presence in the city, Boğaziçi UniversityGalatasaray UniversityIstanbul Technical University (the world’s third-oldest university dedicated entirely to engineering), Istanbul University provide education in English (all but Galatasaray University) and French.[283][clarification needed]

 

View of Kuleli Military High School (1845–2016)

Istanbul is also home to several conservatories and art schools, including Mimar Sinan Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1882.[285]

Public services

Istanbul’s first water supply systems date back to the city’s early history, when aqueducts (such as the Valens Aqueduct) deposited the water in the city’s numerous cisterns.[286] At the behest of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Kırkçeşme water supply network was constructed; by 1563, the network provided 4,200 cubic meters (150,000 cu ft) of water to 158 sites each day.[286] In later years, in response to increasing public demand, water from various springs was channeled to public fountains, like the Fountain of Ahmed III, by means of supply lines.[287] Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage treatment system managed by the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İstanbul Su ve Kanalizasyon İdaresi, İSKİ).[288]

 

The Silahtarağa Power Station, now the art museum SantralIstanbul, was Istanbul’s sole source of power between 1914 and 1952.

The Silahtarağa Power Station, a coal-fired power plant along the Golden Horn, was the sole source of Istanbul’s electricity between 1914, when its first engine room was completed, and 1952.[289] Following the founding of the Turkish Republic, the plant underwent renovations to accommodate the city’s increasing demand; its capacity grew from 23 megawatts in 1923 to a peak of 120 megawatts in 1956.[289][290] Capacity declined until the power station reached the end of its economic life and shut down in 1983.[289] The state-run Turkish Electrical Authority (TEK) briefly—between its founding in 1970 and 1984—held a monopoly on the generation and distribution of electricity, but now the authority—since split between the Turkish Electricity Generation Transmission Company (TEAŞ) and the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAŞ)—competes with private electric utilities.[290]

The Ottoman Ministry of Post and Telegraph was established in 1840 and the first post office, the Imperial Post Office, opened near the courtyard of Yeni Mosque. By 1876, the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the Ottoman Empire had been established.[291] Sultan Abdülmecid I issued Samuel Morse his first official honor for the telegraph in 1847, and construction of the first telegraph line—between Istanbul and Edirne—finished in time to announce the end of the Crimean War in 1856.[292]

 

The Istanbul Grand Post Office dates back to 1909.[293]

A nascent telephone system began to emerge in Istanbul in 1881 and after the first manual telephone exchange became operational in Istanbul in 1909, the Ministry of Post and Telegraph became the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone.[291][294] GSM cellular networks arrived in Turkey in 1994, with Istanbul among the first cities to receive the service.[295] Today, mobile and landline service is provided by private companies, after Türk Telekom, which split from the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone in 1995, was privatized in 2005.[291][295] Postal services remain under the purview of what is now the Post and Telegraph Organization (retaining the acronym PTT).[291]

In 2000, Istanbul had 137 hospitals, of which 100 were private.[296][needs update] Turkish citizens are entitled to subsidized healthcare in the nation’s state-run hospitals.[276] As public hospitals tend to be overcrowded or otherwise slow, private hospitals are preferable for those who can afford them. Their prevalence has increased significantly over the last decade, as the percentage of outpatients using private hospitals increased from 6 percent to 23 percent between 2005 and 2009.[276][297] Many of these private hospitals, as well as some of the public hospitals, are equipped with high-tech equipment, including MRI machines, or associated with medical research centers.[298] Turkey has more hospitals accredited by the U.S.-based Joint Commission than any other country in the world, with most concentrated in its big cities. The high quality of healthcare, especially in private hospitals, has contributed to a recent upsurge in medical tourism to Turkey (with a 40 percent increase between 2007 and 2008).[299] Laser eye surgery is particularly common among medical tourists, as Turkey is known for specializing in the procedure.[300]

Transportation

Istanbul’s motorways network are the O-1O-2O-3O-4 and O-7. The total length of Istanbul Province’s toll motorways network (otoyollar) is 543 km (2021) and the state highways network (devlet yollari) is 353 km (2021), totaling 896 km of expressway roads (minimum 2×2 lanes), excluding secondary roads and urban streets.[301][302][303] The density of expressway network is 16.8 km/100 km2. The O-1 forms the city’s inner ring road, traversing the 15 July Martyrs (First Bosphorus) Bridge, and the O-2 is the city’s outer ring road, crossing the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosphorus) Bridge. The O-2 continues west to Edirne and the O-4 continues east to Ankara. The O-2, O-3, and O-4 are part of European route E80 (the Trans-European Motorway) between Portugal and the Iran–Turkey border.[304] In 2011, the first and second bridges on the Bosphorus carried 400,000 vehicles each day.[305] The O-7[306] or Kuzey Marmara Otoyolu, is a motorway that bypass Istanbul to the north. The O-7 motorway from Kinali Gişeleri to Istanbul Park Service has 139.2 km, with 8 lanes (4×4), and from Odayeri-K10 to Istanbul Atatürk Airport has 30.4 km.[303] The completed section of highway crosses the Bosphorus Strait via the Yavuz Sultan Selim (Third Bosphorus) Bridge, entered service on 26 August 2016.[307] The O-7 motorway connects Istanbul Atatürk Airport with Istanbul Airport. Environmentalist groups worry that the third bridge will endanger the remaining green areas to the north of Istanbul.[308][309] Apart from the three Bosphorus Bridges, the dual-deck, 14.6-kilometer (9.1 mi) Eurasia Tunnel (which entered service on 20 December 2016) under the Bosphorus strait also provides road crossings for motor vehicles between the Asian and European sides of Turkey.[310]

 
 
Istanbul’s nostalgic and modern tram systems

Istanbul’s local public transportation system is a network of commuter trainstramsfunicularsmetro lines, buses, bus rapid transit, and ferries. Fares across modes are integrated, using the contactless Istanbulkart, introduced in 2009, or the older Akbil electronic ticket device.[311] Trams in Istanbul date back to 1872, when they were horse-drawn, but even the first electrified trams were decommissioned in the 1960s.[312] Operated by Istanbul Electricity, Tramway, and Tunnel General Management (İETT), trams slowly returned to the city in the 1990s with the introduction of a nostalgic route and a faster modern tram line, which now carries 265,000 passengers each day.[312][313] The Tünel opened in 1875 as the world’s second-oldest subterranean rail line (after London’s Metropolitan Railway).[312] It still carries passengers between Karaköy and İstiklal Avenue along a steep 573-meter (1,880 ft) track; a more modern funicular between Taksim Square and Kabataş began running in 2006.[314][315]

 
Marmaray commuter rail at Ayrılıkçeşmesi station

The Istanbul Metro comprises eight lines (the M1M2M3M6M7 and M9 on the European side, and the M4 and M5 on the Asian side) with several other lines (M8M12 and M11) and extensions under construction.[316][317] The two sides of Istanbul’s metro are connected under the Bosphorus by the Marmaray Tunnel, inaugurated in 2013 as the first rail connection between Thrace and Anatolia, having 13.5 km length.[318] The Marmaray tunnel together with the suburban railways lines along the Sea of Marmara, is part of intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, from Halkalı on the European side to Gebze on the Asian side. Marmaray rail line has 76.6 km, and the full line opened on 12 March 2019.[319] Until then, buses provide transportation within and between the two-halves of the city, accommodating 2.2 million passenger trips each day.[320] The Metrobus, a form of bus rapid transit, crosses the Bosphorus Bridge, with dedicated lanes leading to its termini.[321]

İDO (Istanbul Seabuses) runs a combination of all-passenger ferries and car-and-passenger ferries to ports on both sides of the Bosphorus, as far north as the Black Sea.[322][323] With additional destinations around the Sea of Marmara, İDO runs the largest municipal ferry operation in the world.[324] The city’s main cruise ship terminal is the Port of Istanbul in Karaköy, with a capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour.[325] Most visitors enter Istanbul by air, but about half a million foreign tourists enter the city by sea each year.[326][non-primary source needed]

 

Originally opened in 1873 with a smaller terminal building as the main terminus of the Rumelia (Balkan) Railway of the Ottoman Empire, which connected Istanbul with Vienna, the current Sirkeci Terminal building was constructed between 1888 and 1890, and became the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris.[327]

International rail service from Istanbul launched in 1889, with a line between Bucharest and Istanbul’s Sirkeci Terminal, which ultimately became famous as the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris.[74] Regular service to Bucharest and Thessaloniki continued until the early 2010s, when the former was interrupted for Marmaray construction but started running again in 2019 and the latter was halted due to economic problems in Greece.[328][329] After Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa Terminal opened in 1908, it served as the western terminus of the Baghdad Railway and an extension of the Hejaz Railway; today, neither service is offered directly from Istanbul.[330][331][332] Service to Ankara and other points across Turkey is normally offered by Turkish State Railways, but the construction of Marmaray and the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed line forced the station to close in 2012.[333] New stations to replace both the Haydarpaşa and Sirkeci terminals, and connect the city’s disjointed railway networks, are expected to open upon completion of the Marmaray project; until then, Istanbul is without intercity rail service.[333] Private bus companies operate instead. Istanbul’s main bus station is the largest in Europe, with a daily capacity of 15,000 buses and 600,000 passengers, serving destinations as distant as Frankfurt.[334][335]

Istanbul had three large international airports, two of which are currently in active service for commercial passenger flights. The largest is the new Istanbul Airport, opened in 2018 in the Arnavutköy district to the northwest of the city center, on the European side, near the Black Sea coast.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transferred from Istanbul Atatürk Airport to Istanbul Airport on 6 April 2019, following the closure of Istanbul Atatürk Airport for scheduled passenger flights.[336] The IATA airport code IST was also transferred to the new airport.[337] Once all phases are completed in 2025, the airport will have six sets of runways (eight in total), 16 taxiways, and will be able to accommodate 200 million passengers a year.[338][339] The transfer from the airport to the city is via the O-7, and it will eventually be linked by two lines of the Istanbul Metro.

Sabiha Gökçen International, 45 kilometers (28 mi) southeast of the city center, on the Asian side, was opened in 2001 to relieve Atatürk. Dominated by low-cost carriers, Istanbul’s second airport has rapidly become popular, especially since the opening of a new international terminal in 2009;[340] the airport handled 14.7 million passengers in 2012, a year after Airports Council International named it the world’s fastest-growing airport.[341][342] Atatürk had also experienced rapid growth, as its 20.6 percent rise in passenger traffic between 2011 and 2012 was the highest among the world’s top 30 airports.[343]

Istanbul Atatürk Airport, located 24 kilometers (15 mi) west of the city center, on the European side, near the Marmara Sea coast, was formerly the city’s largest airport. After its closure to commercial flights in 2019, it was briefly used by cargo aircraft and the official state aircraft owned by the Turkish government, until the demolition of its runway began in 2020. It handled 61.3 million passengers in 2015, which made it the third-busiest airport in Europe and the eighteenth-busiest in the world in that year.[343]

Environment

Flora and fauna

 

Atatürk Arboretum is an arboretum and city forest located in BahçeköySarıyer.

The natural vegetation cover of the Bosporus region is made up of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and pseudo-maquis‘. Chestnutoakelmlindenash and locust comprises the most prominent tree genera. The most important species belonging to maquis formation are laurelterebinthCercis siliquastrumbroomred firethorn, and oak species such as Quercus latifolius and Quercus coccifera. Apart from the natural flora Platanus orentalishorse chestnutcypress and stone pine make up the introduced species that got acclimatized to Istanbul.[344] In a study that examined urban flora in Kartal, a total of 576 plant taxa were recorded; of those 477 were natural and 99 were exotic and cultivated. The most native taxa were in the Asteraceae family (50 species), while the most diverse exotic plant family was Rosaceae (16 species).[345]

Turkish Straits and Sea of Marmara play a vital role for migrating fish and other marine animals between Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Sea. Bosporus hosts pelagicdemersal and semipelagic fish species and more than 130 different taxa have been documented in the strait.[346] Bluefishbonitosea basshorse mackerel and anchovies composes the economically important species. Fish diversity in the waters of Istanbul has dwindled in the recent decades. From around 60 different fish species recorded in the 1970s only 20 of them still survive in the Bosporus.[347][dubious ]Common bottlenose dolphin (Turkish: afalina), short-beaked common dolphin (Turkish: tırtak) and harbor porpoise (Turkish: mutur) make up the marine mammals presently found in the Bosporus and surrounding waters, though since 1950’s the number of dolphin observations has become increasingly rare. Mediterranean monk seals were present in Bosporus, and Princes’ Islands and Tuzla shores were seal breeding areas during summer, but they have not been observed in Istanbul since the 1960s and thought to be extinct in the region.[348] Water pollution, overfishing and destruction of coastal habitats caused by urbanization are main threats to Istanbul’s marine ecology. .

 

Street cats sleeping in Cihangir.

Wild land mammals are mainly concentrated in the northern forested areas of Istanbul. Roe deerwild boarsfoxescoyotesmartensbadgerswolvesweaselswildcatssquirrels and reed cats have been documented to live inside the boundaries of Istanbul Province.[349] Apart from the wild land mammals Istanbul hosts a sizeable stray animal population. The presence of feral cats in Istanbul (Turkishsokak kedisi) is noted to be very prevalent, with estimates ranging from a hundred thousand to over a million stray cats. The feral cats in the city have gained widespread media and public attention and are considered to be symbols of the city.[350][351] Rose-ringed parakeet colonies are present in urban areas, similar to other European cities as feral parrots, and considered as invasive species.[352]

Pollution

Air pollution in Turkey is acute in İstanbul with cars, buses and taxis causing frequent urban smog,[353] as it is one of the few European cities without a low-emission zone. As of 2019 the city’s mean air quality remains of a level so as to affect the heart and lungs of healthy street bystanders during peak traffic hours,[354] and almost 200 days of pollution were measured by the air pollution sensors at SultangaziMecidiyeköy, Alibeyköy and Kağıthane.[355]

Algal blooms and red tides were reported in Sea of Marmara and Bosporus (especially in Golden Horn), and regularly happen in urban lakes such as Lake Büyükçekmece and Küçükçekmece. In June 2021 a marine mucilage wave allegedly caused by water pollution spread to Sea of Marmara.[356]

International relations

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Where governor’s office is located.
  2. ^ Istanbul straddles both Europe and Asia, with its commercial and historical centre and two-thirds of the population in Europe, the rest in Asia. Since Istanbul is a transcontinental city, Moscow is the largest city entirely within Europe.
  3. ^ The foundation of Byzantion (Byzantium) is sometimes, especially in encyclopedic or other tertiary sources, placed firmly in 667 BCE. Historians have disputed the precise year the city was founded. Commonly cited is the work of 5th-century-BCE historian Herodotus, which says the city was founded seventeen years after Chalcedon,[34] which came into existence around 685 BCE. Eusebius concurs with 685 BCE as the year Chalcedon was founded, but places Byzantion’s establishment in 659 BCE.[35] Among more modern historians, Carl Roebuck proposed the 640s BCE[36] and others have suggested even later. The foundation date of Chalcedon is itself subject to some debate; while many sources place it in 685 BC,[37] others put it in 675 BCE[38] or even 639 BCE (with Byzantion’s establishment placed in 619 BCE).[35] Some sources refer to Byzantium’s foundation as the 7th century BCE.
  4. Jump up to:a b Historians disagree—sometimes substantially—on population figures of Istanbul (Constantinople), and other world cities, prior to the 20th century. A follow-up to Chandler & Fox 1974,Chandler 1987, pp. 463–505[71] examines different sources’ estimates and chooses the most likely based on historical conditions; it is the source of most population figures between 100 and 1914. The ranges of values between 500 and 1000 are due to Morris 2010, which also does a comprehensive analysis of sources, including Chandler (1987); Morris notes that many of Chandler’s estimates during that time seem too large for the city’s size, and presents smaller estimates. Chandler disagrees with Turan 2010 on the population of the city in the mid-1920s (with the former suggesting 817,000 in 1925), but Turan, p. 224, is used as the source of population figures between 1924 and 2005. Turan’s figures, as well as the 2010 figure,[176] come from the Turkish Statistical Institute. The drastic increase in population between 1980 and 1985 is largely due to an enlargement of the city’s limits (see the Administration section). Explanations for population changes in pre-Republic times can be inferred from the History section.
  5. ^ In the Ottoman period the inner core of the city, inside the city walls, came to be known as “İstanbul” in Turkish and “Stamboul” in the West. The whole city was generally known as Constantinople or under other names. See Names of Istanbul for further information.[64]
  6. ^ UEFA does not apparently keep a list of Category 4 stadiums, but regulations stipulate that only these elite stadiums are eligible to host UEFA Champions League Finals,[258] which Atatürk Olympic Stadium did in 2005, and UEFA Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup) Finals,[259] which Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium did in 2009. Türk Telekom Arena is noted as an elite UEFA stadium by its architects.[260]

References

  1. ^ “YETKİ ALANI”. Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  2. ^ İstanbul Province = 5,460.85 km²
    Land area = 5,343.22 km²
    Lake/Dam = 117.63 km²
    Europe (25 districts) = 3,474.35 km²
    Asia (14 districts) = 1,868.87 km²
    Urban (36 districts) = 2,576.85 km² [Metro (39 districts) – (Çatalca+Silivri+Şile)]
  3. ^ “İstanbul’un En Yüksek Tepeleri”Hava Forumu. Hava Durumu Forumu. 15 April 2020.
  4. Jump up to:a b “The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2020”Turkish Statistical Institute. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. ^ “Kişi başına GSYH ($) (2019)”Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. ^ “Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab”hdi.globaldatalab.org.
  7. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  8. ^ Upton, Clive; Kretzschmar, Jr., William A. (2017). The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 704. ISBN 978-1-138-12566-7.
  9. Jump up to:a b c d e “Istanbul”britannica.comEncyclopædia Britannica.
  10. ^ Mango, Cyril (1991). “Constantinople”. In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 508–512. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
  11. ^ Çelik 1993, p. xv
  12. Jump up to:a b Masters & Ágoston 2009, pp. 114–15
  13. ^ “Istanbul”Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  14. Jump up to:a b “Top city destinations by overnight visitors”Statista. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  15. Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Heper, Metin (2018). “Istanbul”. Historical dictionary of Turkey (Fourth ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-0224-4.
  16. Jump up to:a b OECD Territorial Reviews: Istanbul, TurkeyPolicy Briefs. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. March 2008. ISBN 978-92-64-04383-1.
  17. Jump up to:a b c “Forum of Constantine”www.byzantium1200.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  18. Jump up to:a b c d Room 2006, p. 177
  19. ^ Georgacas 1947, p. 352ff.
  20. ^ Necipoğlu 2010, p. 262
  21. ^ Necdet Sakaoğlu (1993/94a): “İstanbul’un adları” [“The names of Istanbul”]. In: Dünden bugüne İstanbul ansiklopedisi, ed. Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı, Istanbul.
  22. ^ Grosvenor, Edwin Augustus (1895). Constantinople. Vol. 1: Roberts Brothers. p. 69. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  23. ^ Finkel 2005, pp. 57, 383
  24. ^ Göksel & Kerslake 2005, p. 27
  25. ^ Keyder 1999, p. 95
  26. Jump up to:a b c d e Rainsford, Sarah (10 January 2009). “Istanbul’s ancient past unearthed”www.bbc.comBBC. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  27. ^ Algan, O.; Yalçın, M.N.K.; Özdoğan, M.; Yılmaz, Y.C.; Sarı, E.; Kırcı-Elmas, E.; Yılmaz, İ.; Bulkan, Ö.; Ongan, D.; Gazioğlu, C.; Nazik, A.; Polat, M.A.; Meriç, E. (2011). “Holocene coastal change in the ancient harbor of Yenikapı–İstanbul and its impact on cultural history”. Quaternary Research76 (1): 30. Bibcode:2011QuRes..76…30Adoi:10.1016/j.yqres.2011.04.002S2CID 129280217.
  28. ^ “Bu keşif tarihi değiştirir”hurriyet.com.tr.
  29. ^ “Marmaray kazılarında tarih gün ışığına çıktı”fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr.
  30. ^ “Cultural Details of Istanbul”. Republic of Turkey, Minister of Culture and Tourism. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  31. ^ Janin, Raymond (1964). Constantinople byzantine. Paris: Institut Français d’Études Byzantines. pp. 10ff.
  32. ^ “Pliny the Elder, book IV, chapter XI:
    On leaving the Dardanelles we come to the Bay of Casthenes, … and the promontory of the Golden Horn, on which is the town of Byzantium, a free state, formerly called Lygos; it is 711 miles from Durazzo, …
    . Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 21 June2015.
  33. ^ Bloom & Blair 2009, p. 1
  34. ^ Herodotus Histories 4.144, translated in De Sélincourt 2003, p. 288
  35. Jump up to:a b Isaac 1986, p. 199
  36. ^ Roebuck 1959, p. 119, also as mentioned in Isaac 1986, p. 199
  37. ^ Lister 1979, p. 35
  38. ^ Freely 1996, p. 10
  39. ^ Çelik 1993, p. 11
  40. ^ De Souza 2003, p. 88
  41. ^ Freely 1996, p. 20
  42. ^ Freely 1996, p. 22
  43. ^ Grant 1996, pp. 8–10
  44. ^ Limberis 1994, pp. 11–12
  45. ^ “Porta Aurea”www.byzantium1200.com. Retrieved 31 January2021.
  46. ^ Barnes 1981, p. 77
  47. ^ Barnes 1981, p. 212
  48. Jump up to:a b Barnes 1981, p. 222
  49. Jump up to:a b Gregory 2010, p. 63
  50. ^ Klimczuk & Warner 2009, p. 171
  51. ^ Dash, Mike (2 March 2012). “Blue Versus Green: Rocking the Byzantine Empire”Smithsonian Magazine. The Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  52. ^ Dahmus 1995, p. 117
  53. ^ Cantor 1994, p. 226
  54. ^ Morris 2010, pp. 109–18
  55. ^ Gregory 2010, pp. 324–29
  56. ^ Gregory 2010, pp. 330–33
  57. ^ Gregory 2010, p. 340
  58. ^ Gregory 2010, pp. 341–42
  59. ^ “Hagia Sophia: Deesis Mosaic”hagiasophiahagiasophiaturkey.com. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  60. ^ Reinert 2002, pp. 258–60
  61. ^ Baynes 1949, p. 47
  62. ^ Gregory 2010, pp. 394–99
  63. ^ Béhar 1999, p. 38; Bideleux & Jeffries 1998, p. 71.
  64. ^ Edhem, Eldem. “Istanbul.” In: Ágoston, Gábor and Bruce Alan Masters. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman EmpireInfobase Publishing, 21 May 2010. ISBN 1-4381-1025-1, 9781438110257. Start and CITED: p. 286. “Originally, the name Istanbul referred only to[…]in the 18th century.” and “For the duration of Ottoman rule, western sources continued to refer to the city as Constantinople, reserving the name Stamboul for the walled city.” and “Today the use of the name[…]is often deemed politically incorrect[…]by most Turks.” // (entry ends, with author named, on p. 290)
  65. ^ Inalcik, Halil. “The Policy of Mehmed II toward the Greek Population of Istanbul and the Byzantine Buildings of the City.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 23, (1969): 229–49. p. 236
  66. ^ Holt, Lambton & Lewis 1977, pp. 306–07
  67. Jump up to:a b Hughes, Bettany (2018). Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities. London. ISBN 978-1-78022-473-2.
  68. Jump up to:a b Madden, Thomas F. (7 November 2017). Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World. New York. ISBN 978-0-14-312969-1.
  69. Jump up to:a b c d e Byrne, Joseph Patrick (2012). Encyclopedia of the Black Death. Santa Barbara, California. ISBN 978-1-59884-253-1.
  70. ^ Holt, Lambton & Lewis 1977, pp. 735–36
  71. Jump up to:a b Chandler, Tertius; Fox, Gerald (1974). 3000 Years of Urban Growth. London: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-785109-9.
  72. ^ Shaw & Shaw 1977, pp. 4–6, 55
  73. ^ Çelik 1993, pp. 87–89
  74. Jump up to:a b Harter 2005, p. 251
  75. ^ Shaw & Shaw 1977, pp. 230, 287, 306
  76. ^ Çelik, Zeynep (1986). The Remaking of Istanbul: Portrait of an Ottoman City in the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley. Los Angeles. London: University of California Press. p. 37.
  77. ^ “Meclis-i Mebusan (Mebuslar Meclisi)”. Tarihi Olaylar.
  78. ^ Çelik 1993, p. 31
  79. ^ Freedman, Jeri (2009). The Armenian genocide (1st ed.). New York: Rosen Pub. Group. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-1-4042-1825-3.
  80. ^ Globalization, Cosmopolitanism, and the Dönme in Ottoman Salonica and Turkish Istanbul. Marc Baer, University of California, Irvine.
  81. ^ “Milestones in Borsa Istanbul History”www.borsaistanbul.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  82. Jump up to:a b “6 Ekim İstanbul’un Kurtuluşu”Sözcü. 6 October 2017.
  83. ^ Landau 1984, p. 50
  84. ^ Dumper & Stanley 2007, p. 39
  85. ^ Philip ManselConstantinople: City of the World’s Desire, 1453–1924(2011)
  86. ^ Ağır, Seven; Artunç, Cihan (2019). “The Wealth Tax of 1942 and the Disappearance of Non-Muslim Enterprises in Turkey”. The Journal of Economic History79 (1): 201–243. doi:10.1017/S0022050718000724S2CID 159425371.
  87. ^ Keyder 1999, pp. 11–12, 34–36
  88. ^ Efe & Cürebal 2011, pp. 718–19
  89. Jump up to:a b c “Turkey recovers from one earthquake and braces for more”The Economist. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  90. Jump up to:a b “Turkey: New building code for earthquake resilience”www.preventionweb.net. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  91. ^ Kottek, Markus; Grieser, Jürgen; Beck, Christoph; Rudolf, Bruno; Rube, Franz (June 2006). “World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated” (PDF)Meteorologische Zeitschrift15 (3): 259–63. Bibcode:2006MetZe..15..259Kdoi:10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  92. ^ Peel, M.C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). “Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification” (PDF)Hydrology and Earth System Sciences4 (2): 439–73. Bibcode:2007HESSD…4..439Pdoi:10.5194/hessd-4-439-2007.
  93. ^ “Total Participation Data: August” (in Turkish). Turkish State Meteorological Service. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  94. Jump up to:a b c d “Climatologie globale à Istanbul / Ataturk – Infoclimat”www.infoclimat.fr. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  95. Jump up to:a b “Bitki Soğuğa ve Sıcağa Dayanıklılık”www.mgm.gov.tr. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  96. ^ “Personal Weather Station Dashboard | Weather Underground”www.wunderground.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  97. ^ “Türkiye Ortalama Bağıl Nem” (PDF)Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü.
  98. ^ “Normales et records climatologiques 1981-2010 à Istanbul / Ataturk – Infoclimat”www.infoclimat.fr. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  99. ^ “Istanbul – Climate”MyForecast.
  100. ^ “Normales et records climatologiques 2011-2020 à SARIYER – Infoclimat”www.infoclimat.fr. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  101. ^ “Comparisons of Annual Meanprecipations of Annual Meanprecipitation Gridded and Station Data: An Example from Istanbul, Turkey Yıllık Ortalama Gridlenmiş Yağış Verisi ve İstasyon Yağış Verisinin Karşılaştırılması, İstanbul Örneği – USTAOĞLU – Marmara Coğrafya Dergisi”marmara.edu.tr. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  102. ^ “İstanbul Bölge Müdürlüğü’ne Bağlı İstasyonlarda Ölçülen Ekstrem Değerler” [Extreme Values Measured in Istanbul Regional Directorate] (PDF) (in Turkish). Turkish State Meteorological Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 27 July2010.
  103. ^ “Bitki Soğuğa ve Sıcağa Dayanıklılık”www.mgm.gov.tr. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  104. ^ “La neve sulle coste del Mediterraneo”www.nimbus.it. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  105. Jump up to:a b c d e “Resmi İstatistikler”mgm.gov.tr. Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  106. ^ Kindap, Tayfin (19 January 2010). “A Severe Sea-Effect Snow Episode Over the City of Istanbul”. Natural Hazards54 (3): 703–23. doi:10.1007/s11069-009-9496-7ISSN 1573-0840S2CID 140188530.
  107. ^ Arango, Tim (11 January 2017). “Snow Acts as a Magical Balm in an Anxious Turkey (Published 2017)”The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  108. ^ Tayanç, Mete; Karaca, Mehmet; Dalfes, H. Nüzhet (1998). “March 1987 Cyclone (Blizzard) over the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan Region Associated with Blocking”Monthly Weather Review126(11): 3036. Bibcode:1998MWRv..126.3036Tdoi:10.1175/1520-0493(1998)126<3036:MCBOTE>2.0.CO;2.
  109. ^ “Rivista Ligure di Meteorologia 44 – La neve sulle coste del Mediterraneo”www.nimbus.it. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  110. Jump up to:a b “Istanbul, Turkey – Climate data”. Weather Atlas. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  111. ^ “Normales et records climatologiques 1981-2010 à Istanbul / Ataturk – Infoclimat”www.infoclimat.fr. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  112. ^ “weather istanbul – turkey – weatheronline”www.weatheronline.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  113. ^ “Bahçeköy 1990-1999 Normals” (PDF)www.ibb.gov.tr.
  114. ^ “Climate Explorer: Time series”climexp.knmi.nl. Retrieved 3 June2021.
  115. ^ “Turkey reeling from African heat wave”Daily Sabah. 2 July 2017.
  116. ^ “Gov’t forced to take measures amid below average rainfall across Turkey”Hürriyet Daily News. 21 January 2018.
  117. ^ “Lightning electrifies Istanbul, northwestern Turkey skies as thunderstorms take over”Daily Sabah. 24 July 2018.
  118. ^ “Istanbul flood result of Turkey’s climate change”. Anadolu Agency. 27 July 2017.
  119. ^ Şen, Ömer Lütfi. “Climate Change in Turkey”. Mercator–IPC Fellowship Program=. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  120. ^ “Climate Explorer: Yearly cycle and anomalies over”climexp.knmi.nl. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  121. ^ “Koppen climate classification | Definition, System, & Map”Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  122. ^ “1901-1916 data, Istanbul”Climate Explorer.
  123. ^ Millison, Andrew, “Appendix D: Koppen-Trewartha Climate Classification Descriptions”Permaculture Design: Tools for Climate Resilience, Oregon State University, retrieved 28 April 2021
  124. ^ “Temperature to increase significantly in Turkey in 30 years due to global warming, warns climate expert”Hürriyet Daily News. 19 March 2018.
  125. ^ Çetin, Nefise; Mansuroğlu, Sibel; Kalaycı Önaç, Ayşe (2018). “Xeriscaping Feasibility as an Urban Adaptation Method for Global Warming: A Case Study from Turkey”Pol. J. Environ. Stud27 (3): 1009–18. doi:10.15244/pjoes/76678.
  126. ^ “İstanbul İklim Değişikliği Eylem Planı”. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  127. ^ Çelik 1993, pp. 70, 169
  128. ^ Çelik 1993, p. 127
  129. ^ Moonan, Wendy (29 October 1999). “For Turks, Art to Mark 700th Year”The New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  130. ^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 105
  131. Jump up to:a b WCTR Society; Unʼyu Seisaku Kenkyū Kikō 2004, p. 281
  132. ^ Karpat 1976, pp. 78–96
  133. ^ Yavuz, Ercan (8 June 2009). “Gov’t launches plan to fight illegal construction”Today’s Zaman. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  134. ^ Atkinson, Rowland; Bridge, Gary (2005). Gentrification in a Global Context: The New Urban Colonialism. Routledge. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-0-415-32951-4. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  135. ^ Bourque, Jessica (4 July 2012). “Poor but Proud Istanbul Neighborhood Faces Gentrification”The New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  136. ^ Tait, Robert (22 July 2008). “Forced gentrification plan spells end for old Roma district in Istanbul”The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  137. ^ “New city construction to begin in six months”Hurriyet Daily News. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  138. ^ Boyar & Fleet 2010, p. 247
  139. ^ Taylor 2007, p. 241
  140. ^ “Water Supply Systems, Reservoirs, Charity and Free Fountains, Turkish Baths”. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 29 April2012.
  141. ^ Time Out Guides 2010, p. 212
  142. ^ “Blue Mosque”bluemosque.co. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  143. ^ “Illustration of the Lake (later Sea) of Marmara and the formation of the Turkish Straits after the Black Sea deluge”www.ncdc.noaa.gov.
  144. ^ “An illustration of Byzantine era Constantinople, with the Hippodrome of Constantinople appearing prominently at the center of the image”vividmaps.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  145. ^ “Aerial view of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, with the surviving lower walls of the Sphendone (curved grandstand) in the foreground”. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  146. Jump up to:a b c d e f g Chamber of Architects of Turkey 2006, pp. 80, 118
  147. ^ Labib HabachiThe Obelisks of Egypt, skyscrapers of the past, American University in Cairo Press, 1985, p.145-151.
  148. ^ E.A. Wallis BudgeCleopatra’s Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks,The Religious Tract Society, London, 1926, reprinted 1990, p.160-165.
  149. ^ Istanbul Governor’s official website – The Serpent Columnweb page Archived 2007-08-02 at the Wayback Machine
  150. ^ “Continuity and Change in Nineteenth-Century Istanbul: Sultan Abdulaziz and the Beylerbeyi Palace”, Filiz Yenisehirlioglu, Islamic Art in the 19th Century: Tradition, Innovation, And Eclecticism, 65.
  151. Jump up to:a b c Mango, Cyril (1985). Byzantine Architecture. Milan: Electa Editrice. ISBN 978-0-8478-0615-7.
  152. Jump up to:a b “Sinan, Ottoman architect”britannica.comEncyclopædia Britannica.
  153. ^ Freely 2000, p. 283
  154. Jump up to:a b c Freely 2011
  155. Jump up to:a b c Wharton, Alyson (2015). Architects of Ottoman Constantinople. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-852-6.
  156. ^ Necipoğlu, Gülru (2005). The age of Sinan: architectural culture in the Ottoman Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12326-4.
  157. ^ Çelik 1993, p. 159
  158. ^ Çelik 1993, pp. 133–34, 141
  159. ^ “Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kanunu” [Metropolitan Municipal Law]. Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (in Turkish). 10 July 2004. Retrieved 30 November 2010Bu Kanunun yürürlüğe girdiği tarihte; büyükşehir belediye sınırları, İstanbul ve Kocaeli ilinde, il mülkî sınırıdır. (On the date this law goes in effect, the metropolitan city boundaries, in the provinces of İstanbul and Kocaeli, are those of the province.)
  160. ^ Gül 2012, pp. 43–49
  161. ^ Çelik 1993, pp. 42–48
  162. ^ Kapucu & Palabiyik 2008, p. 145
  163. ^ Taşan-Kok 2004, p. 87
  164. ^ Wynn 1984, p. 188
  165. ^ Taşan-Kok 2004, pp. 87–88
  166. Jump up to:a b Kapucu & Palabiyik 2008, pp. 153–55
  167. ^ Erder, Sema (November 2009). “Local Governance in Istanbul”(PDF)Istanbul: City of Intersections. Urban Age. London: 46. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  168. Jump up to:a b Kapucu & Palabiyik 2008, p. 156
  169. Jump up to:a b “Metropolitan Executive Committee”. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  170. ^ Kapucu & Palabiyik 2008, pp. 155–56
  171. ^ “The Mayor”. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 12 July2018.“The Mayor”. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  172. ^ “Organizasyon” [Organization] (in Turkish). Istanbul Special Provincial Administration. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  173. ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2008, p. 206
  174. ^ “Governor of Istanbul”. Governorship of Istanbul. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  175. ^ “Population of Istanbul in Turkey from 2007 to 2019”. Statista.
  176. ^ “Address Based Population Registration System Results of 2010”(doc). Turkish Statistical Institute. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  177. ^ Morris 2010, p. 113
  178. ^ Chandler 1987, pp. 463–505
  179. Jump up to:a b “The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2019”data.tuik.gov.tr. Istanbul, Turke: Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  180. ^ “Frequently Asked Questions”World Urbanization Prospects, the 2011 Revision. The United Nations. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  181. ^ “File 11a: The 30 Largest Urban Agglomerations Ranked by Population Size at Each Point in Time, 1950–2035” (xls)World Urbanization Prospects, the 2018 Revision. The United Nations. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  182. ^ Turan 2010, p. 224
  183. ^ Kamp, Kristina (17 February 2010). “Starting Up in Turkey: Expats Getting Organized”Today’s Zaman. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  184. ^ “International Migration Statistics, 2019”data.tuik.gov.tr. Istanbul, Turkey: Türk İstatistik Kurumu. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 12 December2020.
  185. ^ Peace, Fergus (29 November 2020). “City stats: Istanbul versus Athens”Financial Times. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  186. ^ McKernan, Bethan (18 April 2020). “How Istanbul won back its crown as heart of the Muslim world”The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December2020.
  187. ^ Lepeska, David (27 December 2013). “Istanbul: An Unlikely Refuge for Exiled Journalists”. The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  188. ^ Hubbard, Ben (14 April 2019). “Arab Exiles Sound Off Freely in Istanbul Even as Turkey Muffles Its Own Critics”The New York Times. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  189. ^ “Why dissidents are gathering in Istanbul”The Economist. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  190. ^ “Syrian migrants in Turkey face deadline to leave Istanbul”BBC News. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  191. ^ Mustafa Mohamed Karadaghi (1995). Handbook of Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Inc: A Non-profit Humanitarian Organization. UN.
  192. ^ Tirman, John (1997). Spoils of War: The Human Cost of America’s Arms Trade. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-684-82726-1.
  193. ^ Pultar, Eren (31 January 2011). “Türkiye’de kaç Kürt yaşıyor?”T24(in Turkish). Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  194. ^ Masters & Ágoston 2009, pp. 520–21
  195. ^ Baser, Bahar; Toivanen, Mari; Zorlu, Begum; Duman, Yasin (6 November 2018). Methodological Approaches in Kurdish Studies: Theoretical and Practical Insights from the Field. Lexington Books. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4985-7522-5.
  196. ^ Çelik 1993, p. 38
  197. Jump up to:a b Magra, Iliana (5 November 2020). “Greeks in Istanbul keeping close eye on developments”www.ekathimerini.com. Ekathimerini. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  198. ^ Grigoryan, Iliana. “Armenian Labor Migrants in Istanbul” (PDF)Koç University. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  199. ^ DHA, Daily Sabah with (10 January 2019). “Assyrian community thrives again in southeastern Turkey”Daily Sabah. Retrieved 20 May2020.
  200. ^ Heper, Metin (2018). Historical dictionary of Turkey (Fourth ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-5381-0224-4.
  201. ^ Levantine historical heritage
  202. ^ Interview with Giovanni Scognamillo
  203. Jump up to:a b c Epstein, Mark Alan (1980). The Ottoman Jewish communities and their role in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Freiburg: K. Schwarz. ISBN 978-3-87997-077-3.
  204. Jump up to:a b Makovetsky, Leah (1989). The Mediterranean and the Jews. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press. pp. 75–104. ISBN 978-965-226-099-4.
  205. ^ Nassi, Gad (2010). Jewish journalism and printing houses in the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-61719-909-7.
  206. ^ Solomon, Norman (2015). Historical dictionary of Judaism (Third ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-4141-1.
  207. ^ “Erdoğan: ‘İstanbul’da teklersek, Türkiye’de tökezlerizTele1. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  208. ^ Ingleby, Melvyn (14 June 2019). “A Turkish Opposition Leader Is Fighting Erdoğan With ‘Radical LoveThe Atlantic. The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  209. ^ Pitel, Laura (24 June 2019). “Erdoğan’s defeat in Istanbul shows opposition’s changing tactics”Financial Times. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  210. Jump up to:a b “Panoramic view of the modern skyline of Istanbul’s European side, with the skyscrapers of Levent at the center and the Bosphorus Bridge (1973) at right”. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  211. Jump up to:a b “A view of the skyscrapers in Levent from Sporcular Park”. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  212. Jump up to:a b c d e OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2020OECD. OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance. OECD Publishing. 2020. doi:10.1787/959d5ba0-enISBN 978-92-64-58785-4. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  213. ^ “Regions and Cities in Turkey at a Glance in 2018” (PDF)Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD Publishing. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  214. ^ “Turkey trade statistics”World Bank. World Bank. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  215. ^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 112
  216. Jump up to:a b Jones, Sam (27 April 2011). “Istanbul’s new Bosphorus canal ‘to surpass Suez or Panama”The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December2020.
  217. Jump up to:a b “Maritime intelligence on Ambarlı port”Lloyd’s List Maritime Intelligence. Lloyd’s Insurance Services. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  218. Jump up to:a b “The Imperial Ottoman Bank Patrimoines Partagés تراث مشترك”heritage.bnf.fr. Bibliothèques d’Orient. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  219. ^ “nBorsa Istanbul: A Story of Transformation” (PDF)borsaistanbul.com. Borsa Istanbul. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  220. ^ “Istanbul Finance Center to open in 2022, gains traction from Middle East”Daily Sabah. Daily Sabah. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  221. ^ Bentley, Mark; Harvey, Benjamin (17 September 2012). “Istanbul Aims to Outshine Dubai With $2.6 Billion Bank Center”Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  222. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, p. 8
  223. ^ Reisman 2006, p. 88
  224. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, pp. 2–4
  225. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, pp. 221–23
  226. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, pp. 223–24
  227. Jump up to:a b “İstanbul – Archaeology Museum”. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  228. ^ Hansen, Suzy (10 February 2012). “The Istanbul Art-Boom Bubble”The New York Times. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  229. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, pp. 130–31
  230. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, pp. 133–34
  231. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, p. 146
  232. ^ Göktürk, Soysal & Türeli 2010, p. 165
  233. ^ Nikitin, Nikolaj (6 March 2012). “Golden Age for Turkish Cinema”. Credit-Suisse. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  234. ^ Köksal 2012, pp. 24–25
  235. ^ “History”. The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  236. ^ Gibbons, Fiachra (21 September 2011). “10 of the Best Exhibitions at the Istanbul Biennial”The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  237. ^ Hensel, Michael; Sungurogl, Defne; Ertaş, Hülya, eds. (January–February 2010). “Turkey at the Threshold”. Architectural Design. London. 80 (1). ISBN 978-0-470-74319-5.
  238. Jump up to:a b Köse 2009, pp. 91–92
  239. ^ Taşan-Kok 2004, p. 166
  240. ^ Emeksiz, İpek (3 September 2010). “Abdi İpekçi Avenue to be new Champs Elysee”Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  241. ^ “Shopping in Singapore is Better than Paris”. CNN. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  242. ^ Schäfers, Marlene (26 July 2008). “Managing the Difficult Balance Between Tourism and Authenticity”Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  243. ^ Schillinger, Liesl (8 July 2011). “A Turkish Idyll Lost in Time”The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  244. ^ Freely 2011, p. 429
  245. ^ Keyder 1999, p. 34
  246. ^ Kugel, Seth (17 July 2011). “The $100 Istanbul Weekend”The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  247. ^ Knieling & Othengrafen 2009, pp. 228–34
  248. ^ Tomasetti, Kathryn; Rutherford, Tristan (23 March 2012). “A Big Night Out in Istanbul – And a Big Breakfast the Morning After”The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  249. ^ “Besiktas: The Black Eagles of the Bosporus”. FIFA. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  250. ^ “Turkey – List of Champions”www.rsssf.comRSSSF. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  251. Jump up to:a b “Galatasaray: The Lions of the Bosporus”. FIFA. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  252. ^ “UEFA Champions League 2007/08 – History – Fenerbahçe”. The Union of European Football Associations. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  253. ^ “Puan Durumu: 2015–2016 Sezonu 30. Hafta” [League Table: 2015–16 Season, Round 30] (in Turkish). Turkish Basketball Super League. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  254. ^ “List of Certified Athletics Facilities”. The International Association of Athletics Federations. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  255. ^ “Istanbul to host 2020 Champions League final, Uefa confirms”The Independent. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  256. ^ “2008/09: Pitmen strike gold in Istanbul”. The Union of European Football Associations. 20 May 2009. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  257. ^ Aktaş, İsmail (14 March 2012). “Aşçıoğlu Sues Partners in Joint Project Over Ali Sami Yen Land”Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  258. ^ “Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2010–12” (PDF). The Union of European Football Associations. p. 14. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  259. ^ “Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2010/11” (PDF). The Union of European Football Associations. p. 17. Retrieved 10 April2012.
  260. ^ “Türk Telekom Arena Istanbul”. ‘asp’ Architekten. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  261. ^ “2010 FIBA World Championship Istanbul: Arenas”. FIBA. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  262. ^ “Istanbul – Arenas”. FIBA. 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  263. ^ “Fenerbahce Ulker’s new home, Ulker Sports Arena, opens”. Euroleague Basketball. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  264. ^ Wilson, Stephen (2 September 2011). “2020 Olympics: Six cities lodge bids for the games”The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  265. ^ Richards, Giles (22 April 2011). “Turkey Grand Prix Heads for the Scrapyard Over $26m Price Tag”The Guardian. Retrieved 3 July2012.
  266. ^ “Turkish Grand Prix 2020 (12-15 November 2020)”formula1.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  267. ^ “2021 F1 calendar reshuffled as Turkey drops off and extra Austria race added”Formula1.com. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  268. ^ “Turkish Grand Prix to rejoin 2021 Formula 1 calendar”formula1.com. 25 June 2021.
  269. ^ “Events” (PDF). FIA World Touring Car Championship. 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  270. ^ “The Circuits”. European Le Mans Series. 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  271. ^ “2000 Race Calendar”. F1 Powerboat World Championship. 2000. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  272. ^ “Powerboat P1 – 2009 World Championship – Istanbul, Turkey”. Supersport. 21 June 2009.
  273. ^ “2012 Yarış Programı ve Genel Yarış Talimatı” [2012 Race Schedule and General Sailing Instructions] (in Turkish). The Istanbul Sailing Club. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  274. ^ Turkish Daily News (23 August 2008). “Sailing Week Starts in Istanbul”Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  275. ^ Brummett 2000, pp. 11, 35, 385–86
  276. Jump up to:a b c d “Country Profile: Turkey” (PDF). The Library of Congress Federal Research Division. August 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  277. ^ “Tiraj”Medyatava (in Turkish). 25 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  278. Jump up to:a b “TRT – Radio”. The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  279. ^ Time Out Guides 2010, p. 224
  280. ^ “TRT – Television”. The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  281. ^ Norris 2010, p. 184
  282. ^ “Chris Morris”. BBC. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  283. Jump up to:a b c d e Heper, Metin (2018). Historical dictionary of Turkey(Fourth ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 155–57. ISBN 978-1-5381-0224-4.
  284. ^ “Turkish Students Market Report 2016”ieft.net. International Education Fairs of Turkey. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  285. ^ Heper, Metin (2018). Historical dictionary of Turkey (Fourth ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Preess. pp. 183–85. ISBN 978-1-5381-0224-4.
  286. Jump up to:a b “Istanbul and the History of Water in Istanbul”. Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2006.
  287. ^ Tigrek & Kibaroğlu 2011, pp. 33–34
  288. ^ “İSKİ Administration”. Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  289. Jump up to:a b c “Silahtarağa Power Plant”. SantralIstanbul. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  290. Jump up to:a b “Short History of Electrical Energy in Turkey”. Turkish Electricity Transmission Company. 2001. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  291. Jump up to:a b c d “About Us | Brief History”. The Post and Telegraph Organization. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  292. ^ Masters & Ágoston 2009, p. 557
  293. ^ “Central Post Office”. Emporis. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  294. ^ Shaw & Shaw 1977, p. 230
  295. Jump up to:a b “About Türk Telekom: History”. Türk Telekom. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  296. ^ Sanal 2011, p. 85
  297. ^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 197
  298. ^ Oxford Business Group 2009, p. 198
  299. ^ Connell 2010, pp. 52–53
  300. ^ Papathanassis 2011, p. 63
  301. ^ “YILLAR İTİBARIYLA YAPIMI TAMAMLANMIŞ OTOYOLLAR (2021)” (PDF)Kgm.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  302. ^ “Lengths of State Highways according to surface types by Provinces (Km)(2021)” (PDF)Kgm.gov.tr. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  303. Jump up to:a b “Otoyollar Istanbul (2021)”Kgm.gov.tr. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  304. ^ Google (1 April 2012). “Istanbul Overview” (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  305. ^ Efe & Cürebal 2011, p. 720
  306. ^ KGM otoyollar Haritası – İstanbul
  307. ^ “3rd Bosphorus bridge opening ceremony”TRT World. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016.
  308. ^ ERM Group (Germany and UK) and ELC-Group (Istanbul) (January 2011). “Volume I: Non Technical Summary (NTS)” (PDF)Eurasia Tunnel Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. The European Investment Bank. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  309. ^ Letsch, Constanze (8 June 2012). “Plan for New Bosphorus Bridge Sparks Row Over Future of Istanbul”The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July2012.
  310. ^ “Istanbul’s $1.3BN Eurasia Tunnel prepares to open”Anadolu Agency. 19 December 2016.
  311. ^ Songün, Sevim (16 July 2010). “Istanbul Commuters Skeptical of Transit Change”Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  312. Jump up to:a b c “Chronological History of IETT” (PDF). Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  313. ^ “T1 Bağcılar–Kabataş Tramvay Hattı” [T1 Bağcılar–Kabataş Tram Line] (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 20 August2012.
  314. ^ “Tunnel”. Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012. (Note: It is apparent this is a machine translation of the original.)
  315. ^ “F1 Taksim–Kabataş Füniküler Hattı” [F1 Bağcılar–Kabataş Funicular Line] (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  316. ^ “Raylı Sistemler” [Rail Systems] (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  317. ^ “Ağ Haritaları” [Network Maps] (in Turkish). İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (Istanbul Transport Corporation). Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  318. ^ “Turkey: Connecting Continents”Economic Updates. Oxford Business Group. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  319. ^ “GEBZE-HALKALI BANLİYÖ HATTI 2018 SONUNDA HİZMETE GİRİYOR” (in Turkish). Marmaray. 18 November 2018. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  320. ^ “Public Transportation in Istanbul”. Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  321. ^ “Metrobus”. Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  322. ^ “Interaktif Haritalar | İç Hatlar” [Interactive Map of Timetables | Inner-City Lines] (in Turkish). İDO. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  323. ^ “Dış Hatlar” [Interactive Map of Timetables | Inter-City Lines] (PDF)(in Turkish). İDO. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  324. ^ Grytsenko, Sergiy (26 September 2011). “EBRD Supports Privatisation of Ferry Operations in Istanbul”. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  325. ^ “Liman Hizmetleri” [Port Services] (in Turkish). Turkey Maritime Organization. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  326. ^ “Istanbul ’10” (PDF)Turkey Tourism Market Research Reports. Istanbul Valuation and Consulting. 2010. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012. (n.b. Source indicates that the Topkapı Palace Museum and the Hagia Sophia together bring in 55 million TL, approximately $30 million in 2010, on an annual basis.)
  327. ^ “Orient Express”britannica.comEncyclopædia Britannica.
  328. ^ “Bölgesel Yolcu Trenleri” [Regional Passenger Trains] (in Turkish). Turkish State Railways. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  329. ^ Keenan, Steve (22 June 2012). “How Your Greek Summer Holiday Can Help Save Greece”The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September2012.
  330. ^ “Haydarpasa Train Station”. Emporis. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  331. ^ Head, Jonathan (16 February 2010). “Iraq – Turkey railway link re-opens”. BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  332. ^ “Transports to Middle-Eastern Countries”. Turkish National Railways. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  333. Jump up to:a b Akay, Latifa (5 February 2012). “2012 Sees End of Line for Haydarpaşa Station”Today’s Zaman. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  334. ^ “İstanbul Otogarı” [Istanbul Bus Station] (in Turkish). Avrasya Terminal İşletmeleri A.Ş. (Eurasian Terminal Management, Inc.). Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  335. ^ “Eurolines Germany–Deutsche Touring GmbH–Europabus”. Touring. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  336. ^ “Last flight leaves Ataturk as Istanbul switches airports”Reuters.
  337. ^ “Turkish Airlines relocates to new Istanbul Airport”. ATWOnline. 5 April 2019.
  338. ^ “Turkish Airlines is switching to a new Istanbul airport – all in 45 hours”Guardian. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019The opening date has been pushed back three times, but authorities insist that the main terminal building and two runways will be fully operational by Sunday, in what critics say it is a rushed and dangerous attempt to stay on schedule.
  339. ^ Ay, Hasan. “Havalimanı değil zafer anıtı”sabah.com.tr. Sabah. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  340. ^ Strauss, Delphine (25 November 2009). “Sabiha Gökçen: New Terminal Lands on Time and Budget”The Financial Times. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  341. ^ “Yolcu Trafiği (Gelen-Giden)” [Passenger Traffic (Incoming-Outgoing)] (in Turkish). General Directorate of State Airports Authority. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 30 March2013.
  342. ^ “Sabiha Gökçen Named World’s Fastest Growing Airport”Today’s Zaman. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  343. Jump up to:a b “Preliminary 2013 World Airport Traffic and Rankings”. Airports Council International. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  344. ^ “Bosphorus as our cultural heritage” (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011.
  345. ^ Altay, Volkan; Ouml, Brahim Lker; zyiit; Yarci, Celal (31 January 2010). “Urban flora and ecological characteristics of the Kartal District (Istanbul): A contribution to urban ecology in Turkey”.
  346. ^ Artüz M.L. (1999) INVENTORY OF EXISTING SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS IN THE BOSPHORUS AREA. Marine bio abs., 1: 112–023.
  347. ^ “Deniz Kirliliğini Önlemeye İlişkin Hedefler”İstanbul Su ve Kanalizasyon İdaresi. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.
  348. ^ “İstanbul’da balıklar”. Dünden Bugüne İstanbul AnsiklopedisiII. İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı.
  349. ^ Agency, Anadolu (23 January 2019). “Rangers keep an eye on Istanbul’s wildlife during winter”Daily Sabah. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  350. ^ “Why so many stray cats in Istanbul?”BBC News. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  351. ^ Brady, Tara. “How the street cats of Istanbul landed on their feet”The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  352. ^ “İstanbul’da istilacı yeşil papağan uyarısı: Sayıları 5-6 bini geçti, kent faunası bozulabilir”birgun.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  353. ^ “Fed up with Istanbul traffic”. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  354. ^ “Understanding Vehicular Pollution – AQI, Harmful Effects and How to Reduce It?”News18. 1 March 2019.
  355. ^ Kara Rapor 2020: Hava Kirliliği ve Sağlık Etkileri [Black Report 2020: Air Pollution and Health Effects] (Report) (in Turkish). Right to Clean Air Platform Turkey. August 2020.
  356. ^ Sea snot’ outbreak off Turkish coast poses threat to marine life”Reuters. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.

Bibliography

  • ʻAner, Nadav (2005). Pergola, Sergio Della; Gilboa, Amos; Ṭal, Rami (eds.). The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute Planning Assessment, 2004–2005: The Jewish People Between Thriving and Decline. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House Ltd. ISBN 978-965-229-346-6.
  • Athanasopulos, Haralambos (2001). Greece, Turkey, and the Aegean Sea: A Case Study in International Law. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-0943-3.
  • Barnes, Timothy David (1981). Constantine and Eusebius. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-16531-1.
  • Baynes, Norman H. (1949). Baynes, Norman H.; Moss, Henry S.L.B (eds.). Byzantium: An Introduction to East Roman Civilization. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-674-16531-1.
  • Béhar, Pierre (1999). Vestiges d’Empires: La Décomposition de l’Europe Centrale et Balkanique. Paris: Éditions Desjonquères. ISBN 978-2-84321-015-0.
  • Bideleux, Robert; Jeffries, Ian (1998). A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. New York and London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-16111-4.
  • Boyar, Ebru; Fleet, Kate (2010). A Social History of Ottoman Istanbul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-13623-5.
  • Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture: Delhi to Mosque. Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1. Retrieved 11 April2013Whatever the prehistoric antecedents of Istanbul, the continuous historical development of the site began with the foundation of a Greek colony from Megara in the mid-7th century BCE…
  • Brink-Danan, Marcy (2011). Jewish Life in Twenty-First-Century Turkey: The Other Side of Tolerance. New Anthropologies of Europe. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35690-1.
  • Brummett, Palmira Johnson (2000). Image and Imperialism in the Ottoman Revolutionary Press, 1908–1911. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-4463-4.
  • Cantor, Norman F. (1994). Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-092553-6.
  • Çelik, Zeynep (1993). The Remaking of Istanbul: Portrait of an Ottoman City in the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08239-7.
  • Chamber of Architects of Turkey (2006). Architectural Guide to Istanbul: Historic Peninsula1. Istanbul: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Istanbul Metropolitan Branch. ISBN 978-975-395-899-8.
  • Chandler, Tertius (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. Lewiston, NY: St. David’s University Press. ISBN 978-0-88946-207-6.
  • Connell, John (2010). Medical Tourism. CAB Books. Wallingford, Eng.: CABI. ISBN 978-1-84593-660-0.
  • Dahmus, Joseph (1995). A History of the Middle Ages. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7607-0036-5.
  • De Sélincourt, Aubery (2003). Marincola, John M. (ed.). The Histories. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-044908-2.
  • De Souza, Philip (2003). The Greek and Persian Wars, 499–386 B.C. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96854-6.
  • Dumper, Michael; Stanley, Bruce E., eds. (2007). Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-919-5.
  • Efe, Recep; Cürebal, Isa (2011). “Impacts of the “Marmaray” Project (Bosphorus Tube Crossing, Tunnels, and Stations) on Transportation and Urban Environment in Istanbul”. In Brunn, Stanley D (ed.). Engineering Earth: The Impacts of Megaengineering Projects. London & New York: Springer. pp. 715–34. ISBN 978-90-481-9919-8.
  • El-Cheikh, Nadia Maria (2004). Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-932885-30-2.
  • Finkel, Caroline (2005). Osman’s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-02396-7.
  • Freely, John (1996). Istanbul: The Imperial City. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-85972-6.
  • Freely, John (2000). The Companion Guide to Istanbul and Around the Marmara. Woodbridge, Eng.: Companion Guides. ISBN 978-1-900639-31-6.
  • Freely, John (2011). A History of Ottoman Architecture. Southampton, Eng.: WIT Press. ISBN 978-1-84564-506-9.
  • Georgacas, Demetrius John (1947). “The Names of Constantinople”. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association78: 347–67. doi:10.2307/283503JSTOR 283503.
  • Göksel, Aslı; Kerslake, Celia (2005). Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar. Comprehensive Grammars. Abingdon, Eng.: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21761-3.
  • Göktürk, Deniz; Soysal, Levent; Türeli, İpek, eds. (2010). Orienting Istanbul: Cultural Capital of Europe?. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-58011-3.
  • Grant, Michael (1996). The Severans: The Changed Roman Empire. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-12772-1.
  • Gregory, Timothy E. (2010). A History of Byzantium. Oxford: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-4051-8471-7.
  • Gül, Murat (2012). The Emergence of Modern Istanbul: Transformation and Modernisation of a City (Revised Paperback ed.). London: IB.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-374-3.
  • Harter, Jim (2005). World Railways of the Nineteenth Century: A Pictorial History in Victorian Engravings (illustrated ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8089-6.
  • Holt, Peter M.; Lambton, Ann K.S.; Lewis, Bernard, eds. (1977). The Cambridge History of Islam1A (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29135-4.
  • Isaac, Benjamin H. (1986). The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest (illustrated ed.). Leiden, the Neth.: BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-06921-3.
  • Kapucu, Naim; Palabiyik, Hamit (2008). Turkish Public Administration: From Tradition to the Modern Age. USAK Publications. 17. Ankara: USAK. ISBN 978-605-4030-01-9.
  • Karpat, Kemal H. (1976). The Gecekondu: Rural Migration and Urbanization (illustrated ed.). Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20954-0.
  • Keyder, Çağlar, ed. (1999). Istanbul: Between the Global and the Local. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8476-9495-2.
  • King, Charles (2014). Midnight at the Pera Palace, The birth of modern Istanbul. Norton & Cy. ISBN 978-0-393-08914-1.
  • Klimczuk, Stephen; Warner, Gerald (2009). Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols, and Societies. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4027-6207-9.
  • Knieling, Jörg; Othengrafen, Frank (2009). Planning Cultures in Europe: Decoding Cultural Phenomena in Urban and Regional Planning. Urban and Regional Planning and Development. Surrey, Eng.: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-7565-5.
  • Köksal, Özlem, ed. (2012). World Film Locations: Istanbul. Bristol, Eng.: Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1-84150-567-1.
  • Köse, Yavuz (2009). “Vertical Bazaars of Modernity: Western Department Stores and Their Staff in Istanbul (1889–1921)”. In Atabaki, Touraj; Brockett, Gavin (eds.). Ottoman and Republican Turkish Labour History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 91–114. ISBN 978-0-521-12805-6.
  • Landau, Jacob M. (1984). Atatürk and the Modernization of Turkey. Leiden, the Neth.: E.J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07070-7.
  • Limberis, Vasiliki (1994). Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian Constantinople. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-09677-5.
  • Lister, Richard P. (1979). The Travels of Herodotus. London: Gordon & Cremonesi. ISBN 978-0-86033-081-3.
  • Mansel, PhilipConstantinople: City of the World’s Desire, 1453–1924 (2011)
  • Masters, Bruce Alan; Ágoston, Gábor (2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7.
  • Morris, Ian (October 2010). Social Development (PDF). Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  • Necipoğlu, Gülru (1991). Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-14050-8.
  • Necipoğlu, Gülru (2010). “From Byzantine Constantinople to Ottoman Kostantiniyye”. In ölcer, Nazan (ed.). From Byzantion to Istanbul. Istanbul: SSM. ISBN 978-605-4348-04-6.
  • Norris, Pippa (2010). Public Sentinel: News Media & Governance Reform. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications. ISBN 978-0-8213-8200-4.
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008). Istanbul, Turkey. OECD Territorial Reviews. Paris: OECD Publishing. ISBN 978-92-64-04371-8.
  • Oxford Business Group (2009). The Report: Turkey 2009. Oxford: Oxford Business Group. ISBN 978-1-902339-13-9.
  • Papathanassis, Alexis (2011). The Long Tail of Tourism: Holiday Niches and Their Impact on Mainstream Tourism. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 978-3-8349-3062-0.
  • Quantic, Roy (2008). Climatology for Airline Pilots. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-69847-1.
  • Reinert, Stephen W. (2002). “Fragmentation (1204–1453)”. In Mango, Cyril (ed.). The Oxford History of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-814098-6.
  • Reisman, Arnold (2006). Turkey’s Modernization: Refugees from Nazism and Atatürk’s Vision. Washington, DC: New Academia Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-0-9777908-8-3.
  • Roebuck, Carl (1959). Ionian Trade and Colonization. Monographs on Archaeology and Fine Arts. New York: Archaeological Institute of America. ISBN 978-0-89005-528-1.
  • Room, Adrian (2006). Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites (2nd ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2248-7.
  • Rôzen, Mînnā (2002). A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul: The Formative Years, 1453–1566 (illustrated ed.). Leiden, the Neth.: BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-12530-8.
  • Sanal, Aslihan (2011). Fischer, Michael M.J.; Dumit, Joseph (eds.). New Organs Within Us: Transplants and the Moral Economy. Experimental Futures (illustrated ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-4912-9.
  • Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2005). Levantiner: Lebenswelten und Identitäten einer ethnokonfessionellen Gruppe im osmanischen Reich im “langen 19. Jahrhundert” (in German). Munich: Oldenbourg. ISBN 978-3-486-57713-6.
  • Shaw, Stanford J.; Shaw, Ezel K. (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29166-8.
  • Tarasov, Oleg; Milner-Gulland, R.R. (2004). Icon and Devotion: Sacred Spaces in Imperial Russia. London: Reaktion. ISBN 978-1-86189-118-1.
  • Taşan-Kok, Tuna (2004). Budapest, Istanbul, and Warsaw: Institutional and Spatial Change. Delft, the Neth.: Eburon Uitgeverij B.V. ISBN 978-90-5972-041-1.
  • Taylor, Jane (2007). Imperial Istanbul: A Traveller’s Guide: Includes Iznik, Bursa and Edirne. New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-84511-334-6.
  • Tigrek, Sahnaz; Kibaroğlu, Ayșegül (2011). “Strategic Role of Water Resources for Turkey”. In Kibaroğlu, Ayșegül; Scheumann, Waltina; Kramer, Annika (eds.). Turkey’s Water Policy: National Frameworks and International Cooperation. London & New York: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-19635-5.
  • Time Out Guides, ed. (2010). Time Out Istanbul. London: Time Out Guides. ISBN 978-1-84670-115-3.
  • Turan, Neyran (2010). “Towards an Ecological Urbanism for Istanbul”. In Sorensen, André; Okata, Junichiro (eds.). Megacities: Urban Form, Governance, and Sustainability. Library for Sustainable Urban Regeneration. London & New York: Springer. pp. 223–42. ISBN 978-4-431-99266-0.
  • WCTR Society; Unʼyu Seisaku Kenkyū Kikō (2004). Urban Transport and the Environment: An International Perspective. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-044512-0.
  • Wedel, Heidi (2000). Ibrahim, Ferhad; Gürbey, Gülistan (eds.). The Kurdish Conflict in Turkey. Berlin: LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 181–93. ISBN 978-3-8258-4744-9.
  • Wynn, Martin (1984). Planning and Urban Growth in Southern Europe. Studies in History, Planning, and the Environment. Los Altos, CA: Mansell. ISBN 978-0-7201-1608-3.

istanbul airport car service with car seat

Istanbul airport transfer with car seat Make sure you choose the correct car seat also mention on booking notes for example :
I have a child 2 years old who needs a toddler seat or I have a 9-month-old baby who needs an infant seat.

Istanbul airport taxi with car seat Family First and you demand the best in safety quality assurance. That’s why Limopedia Istanbul’s car service with car seats offers car seats designed specifically for small children to guarantee their transportation security. We understand the needs of growing families, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have the opportunity to travel with even the youngest members of your family. Choose the right car seat for your children forward-facing baby seat, child seat or booster. We allow parents to Book online and request rear-facing infant seats, forward-facing toddler seats, and backless booster seats to accommodate riders of all ages. If you’re unsure what seat your child requires, mention your child’s height and weight at booking.

Istanbul Airport Transfers

Istanbul Airport Transfer Services
Welcome to Istanbul!
At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the new Istanbul Airport (IST) unveils bigger and grander facilities to accommodate more travelers ready to explore the Turkish capital and beyond. Begin your adventure upon landing by booking Istanbul Airport (IST) transfers that will conveniently take you to your desired destination. Enjoy direct Istanbul Airport transfers to the city and get quick access to popular sites such as Taksim Square, the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet, Besiktas, and more! Upon departure, easily book return airport transfers to ensure you always arrive on time. As one of world’s the most modern and newest airports, Istanbul Airport’s sophistication reaches new heights. Sleek interior design, high ceilings, and vast spaces will have you discovering new shops and restaurants at every corner. Premium lounges are also in place to upgrade your passenger experience before your short-haul or long-haul flights, offering prestige benefits and services during your stay. Enhance your airport travels for the better by skipping onsite queues and waiting time from Istanbul Airport to your hotel or the city. Meet and greet your professional driver aboard private or shared airport transfers with a tap of a finger. Browse through Istanbul Airport transfers on Limopedia and curate the way you travel.

About Istanbul Airport Transfer
Get a headstart on your next travel expedition with Istanbul Airport transfers. Enjoy guaranteed convenience and instant confirmation upon booking. Browse through a seamless interface where you can customize your transfer and vehicle type as well as add on child seats to accommodate young passengers. Meet and greet your professional driver holding a personalized sign upon arrival and be guided to your transfer, unlocking point-to-point transport with just a few clicks. From Istanbul Airport, choose your destination: go straight to your hotel, the city centre, or a popular tourist site unique to your current location. With experienced drivers at the helm of your transfer experience, avoid traffic and gain access to safe navigation, allowing you to simply relax after your flight. Whether you are traveling solo, as a couple, as a family, or a big group of friends, you’re assured of finding a suitable vehicle type to keep your traveling party together. Take your pick from a private sedan, shared commercial van, limousine bus, and more depending on your needs. Worry less and explore more: let your curated itinerary take shape and book return Istanbul Airport transfers on Limopedia at a later time as it flexibly adjusts to your schedule.

How do I get from Istanbul Airport to the city?
In addition to public transportation options, you can get to the city from Istanbul Airport via the following private transfer options: commercial vans, standard sedans, SUVs, and coaches.
How much is a private airport transfer to the city from Istanbul Airport?
The rate of a private airport transfer to the city starts at YTL 214 for 2 passengers. Prices are subject to change based on pick up time, exact destination, total number of passsengers, etc.
How long does it take from Istanbul Airport to city?
The estimated travel time from Istanbul Airport to the city is 44 Minute(s) via private sedan. Travel time may vary depending on the weather and traffic conditions of the day.

Arrive happy with Istanbul rides & airport transfers.

Maybe you’re heading to istanbul to unwind and soak up the istanbul sun that warms the city’s history? Or are you longing to spend your stay indulging in some of the architectural delights and artistic highlights that are on offer? Whatever the reason for your getaway, allow limopedia to get you there.

We’ve teamed up with travel providers in this corner of the historical to bring you easy, stress-free istanbul Airport transfers to and from your accommodation. So, once you’ve booked your return journey, all you need to do is relax and enjoy your trip to this party city.

Booking your istanbul Airport transfers with limopedia
If you’re ready to book your transfer to your holiday accommodation, you can begin your search right now. Simply fill in your travel information in the boxes at the top of this page and hit the ‘Search’ button. We’ll then give you a choice of private vehicles that match your travel plans.

How much will Istanbul Airport transfers cost?
After hitting ‘Search’, you’ll get a tailored price for each private vehicle available for your trip. So if, for example, you’re searching for a transfer from istanbul Airport to sultanahmed or cruise port, you’ll see prices listed next to each vehicle available for your journey.

These prices are live, however, which means they can change according to currency and provider rates. This means that if you begin your search today and return to it later in the week, the amount listed may have changed. However, if you see a vehicle listed at a price that you’re happy with and book it at that moment, your journey will remain at that price, regardless of any future fluctuations.

What’s next?
Now that you’ve chosen the vehicle you’d like to book, you’ll see the ‘Extras’ page, where you can tell us about any additional requirements you might have for your transfer. It could be anything from wheelchair access or specific luggage requests – whatever you need, just let us know.

The luggage allowance
Like the standard allowance on most commercial flights, Limopedia passengers are allowed one suitcase and one piece of hand luggage per person. If you think you’ll be travelling with additional luggage, just let us know and we’ll try to find you an appropriate vehicle.

The e-ticket – confirmation
When you complete your booking with us, look out for the Confirmation in your email inbox. This is an important document as it acts as both confirmation of your booking and a guide to your transfers that provides the instructions you’ll need.

As it’s important that you have copy of the Confirmation with you for your transfers, we recommend printing it off as well as having online access so you can present it to your driver when asked.

What to do upon arrival at istanbul Airport
When you land in istanbul, take a look at the ‘Find my pick-up’ section on your e-ticket. This is where you’ll see instructions detailing where you need to go to meet your driver, along with any additional information that’s relevant to your transfer.

If you can’t see any directions on your e-ticket, call the emergency number and we’ll let you know where to go to meet your driver.

Where is the driver?
If you can’t see your driver when you get to the meeting point, don’t worry. Give the number on your confirmation a call and we’ll find out where they are is and how long they’ll be.

Running late?

Let us know as soon as you can if your flight is delayed. Your driver will wait for you for up to 1 hour, but it’s important that you let us know by calling the number provided as soon as you think you won’t make it to the pick-up point in time. That way, we can begin making alternative arrangements for your Istanbul Airport transfers.

For delays that run over 1 hour, we’ll arrange for another driver to come and pick you up. If you’re delayed by three hours or more, you will need to rearrange your transfer and speak to your travel insurance provider.

What’s available at istanbul Airport?
Istanbul Airport is ideally situated less than 20 miles from the city center, so you can be taken out of the airport and straight to your hotel in under 1 hour. At the airport, you’ll find a range of typical amenities, including shops and eateries. The airport also features an exhibition space that’s home to a range of installations and exhibits.

The return journey
If you’re returning with us as well, your private airport taxi back to istanbul Airport involves a similar process to your arrival transfer. Have your e-ticket ready and follow the instructions carefully.

Your driver will pick you up from your accommodation at the time listed on your e-ticket. We’ll also send you a text message if you’ve agreed to receive SMS messages from us. Aim to be ready and at your meeting point at least 15 minutes before your scheduled pick-up time.

Istanbul Airport Limousine Service

Limopedia Istanbul Airport Limousine Service Punctual and Reliable Limousine Service in Istanbul, Limopedia Limousine’s provides first-class chauffeured transportation with value-based pricing and skillful

Limopedia Car & Limo delivers the best Istanbul Limousine service. Whether it is your vacation or business travel, Limopedia is the way to arrive or Depart from istanbul airport.

Istanbul’s luxury limousines serving hagia sophia, Taksim, sisli, istiklal street, IST istanbul international airport Limosuine service … Call Limopedia Limousine. … FIRST-CLASS LIMOUSINE SERVICE

Limopedia istanbul airport limo service Take the stress and hassle out of your trip to or from the airport with relaxing Istanbul limo services from Istanbul Limousine. Our professional chauffeurs carry your luggage and provide a smooth and efficient ride to get you to your destination on time. At the airport, our drivers will await your arrival, with no additional charge if your flight is delayed. Once you arrive, sit back and relax.

Whether your transportation is planned or last-minute, IST Limousine is here to serve corporate clients working in Istanbul. Use our limo service to pick up important clients or for traveling to and from home. Leave the driving to our professional chauffeurs so you can converse with colleagues, get business done on the road, or simply enjoy a hassle-free, safe ride.

If you’re in Istanbul City for the first time or simply want a relaxing sightseeing experience, using our Limopedia istanbul airport limo service makes every destination more enjoyable. Limopedia istanbul Limousine will get you to all the notable city landmarks while you sit back and relax. With reliable transportation from Istanbul Limousine, you can feel safe in the city wherever you explore.

istanbul airport black car service

Istanbul Black Car Service – Limopedia istanbul Transportation one of the professional black car & limo service in istanbul City, Airport transfers & sightseeing.

For a professional car service in istanbul, travelers can trust Delux Worldwide to be on time at the location. Our experienced drivers will pre-plan all routes by

Serving ( IST ) Istanbul International Airport, … Book your black car service to and from Istanbul City and anywhere in istanbul

Get Free Istanbul Car Service Quote online.
Limopedia Transportation is a pioneer in ground transportation solution. We do have different types of vehicles to satisfy all of our clients needs in the following areas:

We have a variety of sedan, SUV, sprinter van, stretch limousine, minibuses, and coach buses.Istanbul car service industry “ground transportation” is very competitive and challenging , app hail companies competing on the drivers earning. Our chauffeurs are the best in the industry. They are always in a professional business attire, and they are customer services oriented.

We are always on time. We send our chauffeurs usually 10 minutes before the scheduled pickup time, and that’s how we always stay on top of our game. For airport transfers; we keep track the incoming flight, we offer 30 minutes for domestic flight, and 60 minutes for international flight free waiting time.Free waiting time is to give our clients the chance to get the luggage and to be ready to leave.

Vehicles and chauffeurs hygiene; we keep the health and hygiene first priority as a private transfer provider . You have the right to have a safe and clean ride. We use the anti bacterial wipes between trips. We provide our clients with hand sanitizer, and we spray the vehicle from inside twice a day to make sure we have clean and safe vehicle ready for you.

Due to Covid-19 Cornonavius pandemic, we have set of rules and cleaning protocols “Sanitized Car Service” to provide our clients with the protection need it for them and their families.

Our luxury car service Istanbul Airport door to door service (seats up to 3 travelers), or Luxury SUV (seats up to 6 travelers with moderate gear easily). Or if you have more than 6 travelers you can book the luxury sprinter van 8-14 traveler

MEET THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Limopedia Istanbul Service areas

Istanbul is a major city in Turkey that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Its Old City reflects the cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet district, the open-air, Roman-era Hippodrome was for centuries the site of chariot races, and Egyptian obelisks also remain. The iconic Byzantine Hagia Sophia features a soaring 6th-century dome and rare Christian mosaics.