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Bookmark & shareByzantium, Constantinople, İstanbul: by any name it's glorious.
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.
In this sprawling, continent-spanning city you can tramp the streets where crusaders and janissaries once marched; admire mosques that are the most sublime architectural expressions of Islamic piety; peer into the sultan's harem; and hunt for bargains in the Kapalı Çarşı (Grand Bazaar).
Fast Facts
Population
13,000,000
Currency
Name: New Turkish Lira
Code: TRY
Symbol: YTL
Electrical Plugs
220V 50Hz
Languages Spoken
Official: Turkish
Time Zones
GMT/UTC +2
Country Dialing Code
+90
Weights & Measures
Metric
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