1. ISTANBUL - TURKEY
Istanbul historically known as
Byzantium and Constantinople is the
largest city of Turkey. Istanbul
metropolitan province had 13.26 million
people living in it.
It is located in northwestern Turkey
within the Marmara Region on the
Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the
natural harbour known as the Golden
Horn, in the northwest of the country.
The Bosphorus, which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, divides
the city into a European side, comprising the historic and economic centers, and
an Asian, Anatolian side. Thereby Istanbul the only metropolis in the world that
is situated on two continents.
The historic peninsula is said to be built on seven hills, each topped by an
imperial mosque, surrounded by 22 kilometers of city walls; the largest of these
hills is the site of Topkapı Palace on the Sarayburnu. Rising from the opposite
side of the Golden Horn is another, conical hill, where the modern Beyoğlu
district is situated. Because of the topography, buildings were once constructed
with the help of terraced retaining walls (some of which are still visible in older
parts of the city), and roads in Beyoğlu were laid out in the form of steps.
Üsküdar on the Asian side exhibits similarly hilly characteristics, with the terrain
gradually extending down to the Bosphorus coast, but the landscape in
Şemsipaşa and Ayazma is more abrupt, akin to a promontory. The highest point
in Istanbul is Çamlıca Hill (also on the Asian side), with an altitude of 288 meters.