Istanbul travel

Istanbul is the largest city of Turkey and the third largest city in the world. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents. Due to its three thousand year-old history, it is considered as one of the oldest still existing cities in the world. In its long history, Istanbul served as the capital city of the Roman Empire, the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.