Turkey

Straddling the Bosphorus, its skyline studded with domes and minarets, İstanbul is one of the truly great romantic cities. Its history tracks back from Byzantium to Constantinople to its place at the head of the Ottoman Empire. Today it hums as Turkey's cultural heart and good-time capital.

Before the 20th century

Prompted by the oracle at Delphi, a man named Byzas established a town on the site of present-day İstanbul around 657 BC. Although conquered by Alexander the Great and eventually subsumed by the Roman Empire, Byzantium fared pretty well until it annoyed a Roman emperor by backing his rival in a civil war, and it was subsequently destroyed. A new city was erected in 330 AD, at first called New Rome but quickly rechristened Constantinople in deference to the new Roman emperor, Constantine.

Constantinople was regarded as the capital of the Eurasian world, thanks in large part to its magnificent architecture - many of the Christian churches, as well as the impressive Hippodrome, are still visible today. Embellishments to the city continued as the Eastern Roman Empire grew in strength, reaching its peak in the time of Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Over the next few centuries the city weathered attacks by the armies of the Islamic and Bulgarian empires, but the crusaders finally sacked it in 1204. The city was reclaimed by a rejuvenated Byzantine Empire 50 years later.

The fall of Constantinople occurred in 1453 when the Ottoman army of Sultan Mehmet II took the city. It was under the Ottomans that a classic mosque design was established and many other great buildings constructed in the city, which was soon renamed İstanbul. The Ottoman Empire overextended itself militarily in the 18th century and went into a decline, accentuated by the fact that it was well behind Europe in the areas of science, politics and commerce. This led to modernisation attempts and in-fighting, including the eventual slaughter in İstanbul of the janissaries, the sultan's bodyguards and a prominent symbol of the old regimes.

Ethnic nationalism ultimately splintered the Ottoman Empire. Greece asserted itself in 1832, with Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and the Arabs primed to follow suit. Meanwhile, other European powers were getting ready to squabble over the geographical pickings. Russia tried to pressure the Ottomans for control of the faltering empire's subjects, but the unfortunate result was the Crimean War, fought in 1853-56 with British and French support for the Turks against encroaching Russian power.

Modern history

The turn of the 20th century was greeted with more nationalist uprisings in Macedonia, Crete and Armenia, and Turkish stability hit a new low after the country opted to side with Germany during WWI - the result was the British occupation of İstanbul. The Turkish War of Independence, during which revitalised nationalist forces fought off invaders from Greece, France and Italy, finally led to the birth of the Turkish republic in 1923.

The seat of the new nation was established in Ankara, and İstanbul, no longer regarded as a political or cultural powerhouse, was relegated to a back-seat role in terms of its prominence as a city.

Recent history

However, İstanbul has undergone a renaissance, with its infrastructure being upgraded, its cultural life emphasised and its political tenor increasingly influenced by the West. Indeed, Turkey's bid to join the EU is underpinned by the fact that these days its major city is a cosmopolitan and sophisticated megalopolis more than ready to reclaim its status as one of the world's truly great cities.

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İstanbul offers traditional Turkish experiences like the hamam (steam bath) and a game of backgammon over fragrant tea. If you want a more Western gym-bunny type of experience, you'll have to search it out. Of course, there's always walking: İstanbul is a prime city for strolling and gazing.

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Turkey has seven climatic regions. İstanbul is situated in the Marmara region, which includes eastern Thrace and Edirne. It's a countryside of rolling steppeland and low hills with an average yearly rainfall of 668mm (26.3in). Rainfall is highest (between 80mm/3.1in and 100mm/3.9in per month) from November to February; July and August have the least rainfall. Humidity follows the same pattern, with the lowest humidity (under 30%) in July, August and September, and the highest (over 60%) - a bone-chilling damp - in December and January.

Temperatures in July and August peak at around 30°C (86°F), with lows around 20°C (68°F). In December and January, temperatures fall as low as 2°C (36°F) and even below: bring a carrot for Frosty. Daily highs reach about 9°C (48°F). April, May, September and October are the best times to visit, with daytime highs usually around 16°C to 25°C (61°F to 77°F), and lows from around 9°C to 18°C (48°F to 64°F).

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Transport

Getting around

Moving some 16 million people around İstanbul is a challenge (understatement of the year), but in the last few years the government has begun to implement the ambitious Marmaray project, which aims to ease the city's horrendous traffic problems. Thankfully most of the major sights you're likely to visit on a short visit to the city are within walking distance or a short tram or bus ride away.

İstanbul Elektrik Tramvay ve Tünel (İETT) is responsible for running the public bus, tram, LRT and metro systems in the city. Its excellent website (www.iett.gov.tr) has useful timetable and route information in Turkish and English.

Health & Legal Requirements

Dangers and annoyances

Theft is not generally a big problem and robbery (mugging) is comparatively rare, but don't let İstanbul's relative safety lull you. Take normal precautions. Areas to be particularly careful in include Aksaray/Laleli (the city's red-light district); the Grand Bazaar (pickpocket central); the streets off İstiklal Caddesi in Beyoğlu; and Galipdede Caddesi in Tünel, where bag-snatching sometimes occurs.

Turkey has one of the world's highest motor-vehicle accident rates. Drive very defensively. As a pedestrian, give way to cars and trucks in all situations, even if you have to jump out of the way. The sovereignty of the pedestrian is recognised in law but not out on the street.