Interesting facts about Istanbul in English, the City of Amazing Landmarks

Interesting facts about Istanbul in English, the City of Amazing Landmarks

Brief history of Istanbul

In this blog, our company Land Invester Company tried to review the brief history and some historical events of Istanbul and provide interesting facts about Istanbul. Istanbul has a rich history of 8000 years, which has witnessed many ups and downs in its ancient history. This ancient city is also known as Seven Hills city. It is the only city in the world that is located between two continents. The very special geographical location of this city has made Istanbul the focus of many world powers throughout history. Therefore, it is the only city in history that was the capital of three great empires, including the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

One of the famous wars between Iran and Rome took place in the years 602 to 628 AD. In one of those wars, the Sassanid Empire army besieged Constantinople. Finally, due to the strong and impenetrable walls of the city at that time, the Sassanid army suffered a heavy defeat.

According to some historians, this heavy defeat of the Sasanian army became one of the main reasons for the weakening of the Sasanian Empire. This failure, the internal disputes of the rulers and other factors ultimately led to its fall by the Arabs. In its ancient history, Istanbul was besieged 33 times by various armies before it was conquered by Sultan Fatih Mehmet.

Interesting facts about Istanbul in English

• According to the last census of 2022, the population of Istanbul is equal to 16.070 million people
• It is the largest and most populous city in Europe.
• Istanbul, with a length of 85 kilometers and an area of 5461 square kilometers, includes 39 districts.
• Istanbul includes 39 districts. You have probably heard of some of them, such as Sisli, Kadikoy, Besiktas…
• Istanbul usually gets the highest score every year in the ranking of the best city to live in Turkey.
• Today, Ankara is considered as the political capital and Istanbul as the economic capital of Turkey.
• Despite having 19% of Turkey’s population, Istanbul accounts for 40% of Turkey’s economy.
• These figures show the economic dynamics of Istanbul and it is the best option in Turkey in terms of earning money. After Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir are the most populous cities in Turkey.

Brief history of Istanbul & Historical events

• During its 8000-year history, Istanbul had other names such as Chalcedon, Constantinople, Islambol, Istanbul and Tsarigrad.
• During the campaign to Greece, the Achaemenid army built a temporary bridge by gluing ships together.
• The order of the Iranian emperor and the army were rejected. In fact, Darius the Great was the first person in history to cross the Bosphorus on foot.
• Istanbul has 7 hills, which is why it is also known as the city of 7 hills among Turkish people.
• In the 4th century AD, Roman Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a new capital on 7 hills. The reason for this decision was the belief in the existence of 5 spheres in the sky, which, including the moon and the sun, totaled 7.
• Constantinople or today’s Istanbul was conquered in 1453 AD by the conqueror Sultan Mehmet with a unique tactic, i.e. passing ships over land.
• In the 16th century, Istanbul was the most populous city in the world.
• In 2010, it was chosen as the cultural capital of Europe.
• Forty percent of the total tax paid in Turkey is the share of Istanbul.
• The average per capita income of Istanbulites is twice the average per capita income of Turks.
• In 2022, 16 million tourists from all over the world visited Istanbul.
• According to studies conducted by Mastercard under the title of Mastercard Global Index, Istanbul is among the top 10 tourist destinations in the world.
• Karakoy – Istiklal Street subway is considered as the third oldest subway in the world (1875 AD).