Istanbul that is historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most popular city in Türkiye and the country’s economic, cultural and historic center. This is one of the greatest cities in the world where you can see a modern western city combined with a traditional eastern city. Istanbul is the only city in the world that straddles two continents: Asia and Europe. So the main selling point of Istanbul has always been a bridge between Asia and Europe. Istanbul is surrounded by the sea, with the Bosphorus cutting right through it. Istanbul has also been announced as the European Capital of Culture by the European Union in 2010. Since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, Istanbul has continued to grow and today it boosted its population by over 14 million people living in this spread-out city. This makes Istanbul the largest city in Türkiye and one of the biggest cities in the world.
