Homage to Byzantium-Istanbul

Istanbul is a mix of emotions, as it is a mixture of cultural influences and empires, seated geographically between Europe and Asia. Situated on the Bosphorous strait and including the natural harbour of the Goldern Horn, its population of 13.6 million people make it the biggest and most urbanised city in Europe. It was appropriate to arrive from Paris, that other great European city, if not to instantly note the greater bustle of people, traffic and pollution. Paradoxically, the streets are cleaner than Paris, which has half its population.

Istanbul’s cultural heritage is mind boggling when one considers the fruit of successive empires, who each established their capital here, comprising: the Eastern Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Istanbul is quite simply a fulcrum point on which our modern world was built. Evidence is everywhere, such as the 6.6 klms of defensive wall and inner belt, built by Roman Emperor, Theodosius II, in 447 AD, which became a leading reference for later military architecture. The Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia), built by Emperor Justinian, in 360AD, stood for 1000 years as the largest Cathedral in the world and was a key influence on the design of churches and mosques. The mosaics and paintings, of which some still somehow survive, influenced both Eastern and Western art.

This World Heritage site covers four zones, illustrating the major phases of the city's history, by way of it`s most prestigious monuments:

• the Archaeological Park, which in 1953 and 1956 was defined at the tip of the peninsula;
• the Süleymaniye quarter, protected in 1980 and 1981;
• the Zeyrek quarter, protected in 1979;
• the zone of the ramparts, protected in 1981

The Eastern Roman empire is represented by the Hippodrome of Constantine (324), which has all but disappeared, the aqueduct of Valens (378AD) and the ramparts built by Theodosius II (413AD).

The remnants of the great Byzantine Empire are all too rare, however, they include the churches of St. Sophia and St. Irene, built during the reign of Justinian (527-565AD) and the church of the Holy Savior in Chora, with its exquisite 14th and 15th Century mosaics.

The capital of the Ottoman Empire is represented by its most important monuments: Topkapı Saray Palace and the Blue Mosque in the archaeological zone; the Sehzade and Süleymaniye mosques, which are two of the architect Koça Sinan's major works, constructed under Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-66) in the Süleymaniye quarter; and the settlement houses of this quarter (525 wooden houses which are listed and protected).

Most interesting is the personage of Emperor Constantine the Great, who can be credited with two decisions, which changed the course of Western Civilisation: His conversion and Roman State adoption of Christianity, and the relocation of the imperial court from declining Rome to Byzantium (which became successively, Constantinople and Istanbul). Grace chiefly to it’s strategic position, fortifications and Roman military superiority, it lasted 1000 years before the Ottoman ruler, Sultan Mehmet II, finally breached its walls in 1453.

Today, Istanbul is a highly urbanised (pop. doubled in last 15 years), laic city-although some locals fear a movement to religious orthodoxy. With its population representing 18% of the Turkish nation, this modern metropolis benefits from the country’s strong economic growth; and everywhere one witnesses the industrious nature of its people.