Walk in the footsteps of Roman emperors and Ottoman sultans. Explore some of the world's greatest monuments, their names etched in history: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace. Bargain-hunt your way through a twisted warren of lanes in the Grand Bazaar—the world's oldest shopping mall—paus­ing to sip tea with a merchant. Set sail on the Golden Horn, and take in a spine-tingling skyline bristling with minarets. Inhale the apple-tobacco smoke from a water pipe as you listen to the strains of exotic music. And enjoy meeting some of the planet's friendliest people, whether you're chatting with a fisherman on a bustling bridge, haggling for a carpet, learning about Islam from a peace-loving Muslim, or playing backgammon with a grizzled old Turk.

Istanbul is one of the world's great cities, period. For millen­nia, this point where Europe meets Asia has been the crossroads of civilization. Few places on earth have seen more history than this sprawling metropolis on the Bosphorus. Once called Byzantium, then Constantinople, Istanbul boasts the opulent trappings of an epic past—from the Byzantine emperors and the Ottoman sul­tans of the distant ages, to the modern Republic-builders and "Eurocrats" of our own time. And, as the biggest city of a moder­ate Muslim nation, Istanbul also offers the inquisitive traveler a unique opportunity to grapple with the rich and inspiring Islamic faith: hear the eerie wail of the call to prayer echo across the roof­tops, poke into a neighborhood mosque, and watch a Dervish whirl in prayer.

Turkey has long been the most exciting and inviting cultural detour from Europe. And as their nation starts down the long and winding road to European Union membership, the Turks are more Western-facing and welcoming than ever. Now's the time to dive in.

JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to use Google Maps.
However, it seems JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser.
To view Google Maps, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, and then try again.

The city of Istanbul, with its many colorful quarters, includes a gigantic organization. The city itself is located in an ideal position — the dome of St. Sophia is located at 41 00 30 latitude north and 28 58 52 longitude east of Paris. This incomparable geopraphic setting has put Istanbul at the junction of two continents and at the crossroads of sea and railways lines connecting east to west and north to south. Since ancient times, this geographical fortune has given Istanbul an exceptional importance and a remarkable advantage over other cities of the Near East, the Balkans and Anatolia.

The name Bosphorus (Passage of the Cow) recalls the journey of the goddess io. Legend says that the goddess was transformed into a cow and swam across the straits of the Bosphorus. More recently, since the Latin conquest of the city in 1204, the lower Bosphorus has been called "The Arm of St. Georges".

The length of the Bosphorus is 31 km or 28 km as the crow flies. Its width at the Black Sea measures 4,700 metres, at Büyükdere 3,300 metres, at Anadolu Hisarı 450 metres and 2,500 metres at the entrance of the Sea of Marmara. The waters, flowing in the direction of the Black Sea, have an average depth of 60 metres — They are 37 metres deep at the Saray Point (Saray Burnu) and becomes as deep as 120 metres at Kandilli.
The city of Istanbul is divided into two by a narrow and deep gulf. Although modern travellers and writers have eulogized the gulf as "the Golden Horn", it used to be simply called the horn or "Keras". Today, it is "Haliç" to the Turks. From the junction of two rivers near a prairie called the Sweet Waters of Europe to the Saray Point, the Golden Horn measures 7,500 meters. Its widest point of 570 meters is located between Kasımpaşa and Cibali, Its depth ranges from 1 metre in parts where there are continually-growing islets to 34 metres at points between the two bridges and the port.
The archipelago called The Princes Island is situated about 25 km from the city on the Anatolian side. It consists of nine islands arranged in two groups of six and three. As you near the islands they appear in the following order: The first group consists of Kınalı (Proti), Burgaz (Antigoni), Kaşık (Pita), Heybeli (Halki), Büyükada (Prinkipo) and Tavşan (Antherobinthos). The second group consists of Sivri (Oxia), Yassı (Plati) and Sedef (Neandros). The island of Yassı is used as a school and naval base. Together, these islands are some of Turkey's most beautiful and most satisfying vacation offerings.

The Marmara (The Propontide of the Ancients) is an interior sea entirely of Turkish possession. It connects the Mediterranean with the Black Sea across the.straits oftheDardanellesand the Bosphorus. The Sea of Marmara was a prized possession of the Roman world during the first Christian centuries. Its waters carried the ambitious imperial fleets and its shores received the landing legions. Later, the Marmara became the center of Near-Eastern Civilization and Moslem culture.
The Marmara is 275 km long from Çanakkale (Gallipoli) to İzmit (Nicomedea) and no wider than 85 km. Its surface area is 265 km2. Its depth in high seas varies from 500 to 1,400 metres, but more than half of its waters are no deeper than 90 metres as a result, its average depth is 289 metres. Its waters are healthy and do not contain sulphureous hydrogen as does the Black Sea. Its flora and fauna are exteremely rich. Starting from a depth of 60 metres, there are some tremendous algae forests inhabited by a varied and fascinating animal life. There is abundant fish and sponges grow until a depth of 1,200 metres.