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Istanbul… The main reason of Istanbul’s being a very popular city
for which wars are made, lives are lost is its geographical location…
Let’s review this location first: In its south stretches Marmara Sea and
in its north is Black Sea. Its west part is in Europe and east part is
in Asia. The important waterline dividing Istanbul into two is the
Bosphorus… The only alternative to reach the Aegean Sea and the
Meditteranean Sea, therefore to open sea is to use Istanbul and the the
Bosphorus…
Istanbul is both the nearest Asian city to Europe and the nearest
European city to Asia. What adds to Istanbul’s significance is its being
a port city and all trade paths’ passing through the city for thousands
of years…
Another important feature of Istanbul is that it has a highly sheltered
structure. Especially the center which is presently called as the
“historical peninsula”, which was made capital city by both Byzantine
and Ottoman Empires and its being located on a hill surrounded by three
seas made it almost impossible to be conquered… Indeed, Haliç had the
quality of being an unparalleled harbour sheltering navy fleets.
Land of the blinds
A famous myth explains very precisely the unmatched
location of Istanbul :
Commander Byzas, who gave his name to the empire to be later called as
Byzantine, sets off to sail to build a new colony from where Greece is
located today. During the long voyage and his searches, he goes to an
oracle for advice. The oracle makes this prediction: “You are going to
build your city right opposite of the land of the blinds!” Continuing
his voyage, Byzas reaches to the banks of Sarayburnu, the Istanbul of
today. When he sees this protected peninsula, he thinks that it is just
the place that he was looking for; meanwhile he notices the area of
residence on the opposite side (Kadýköy at present). Byzas decides that
the people who, given the excellent area of residence right before them,
do not prefer to reside there are blind. And since it also coincides
with the prediction, he builds his colony on this land without
hesitation…
Istanbul, still geographically perfect!
Although thousands of years have passed, Istanbul
still maintains its geographical importance. Today Istanbul is a huge
metropolis connecting continents, cultures, religions and being home to
eleven million people; and one of the greatest business and cultural
center of the region…
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FETHIYE
BODRUM
MARMARIS
ANTALYA