DK Travel : Istanbul

Istanbul is one of the greatest cities the world has ever known. Inhabited for at least 5,000 years, it was capital of two of the world’s most powerful empires – those of the Byzantines and the Ottomans – and its every stone is steeped in history. The highlights are easy; you can cover the major attractions in the first couple of days. But after that, the choice can be overwhelming, especially as this ancient city is reinventing itself once more as a modern centre for nightlife, food and shopping. The only answer is to come back again – and again. If you do, this endlessly fascinating city will certainly reward you.

Note that all price indications in this guide are given in US dollars, based on an exchange rate of 1YTL (New Turkish Lira) : US $0.70.

1071: Battle of Manzikert

The Seljuk Turks from Persia defeated Byzantine forces at Manzikert and seized most of Anatolia. The Byzantines never recovered their eastern lands.
1204: Sack and Capture of Constantinople

The armies of the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople, driving the emperor into exile. Crusader rulers governed in Constantinople until 1261, when Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus recaptured the city.
1453: Birth of Istanbul

Following years of Ottoman encroachment into the Byzantine Empire, Sultan Mehmet II captured Constantinople, renaming it İslambol (“the City of Islam”). The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine IX, died fighting on the city walls.
1529: Siege of Vienna

The Ottoman Empire reached its maximum extent under Süleyman I. In 1526, he had taken control of southern Hungary. In the spring of 1529, he mustered a huge military force with the aim of consolida-ting his Hungarian gains and moving on to Vienna. A combi-nation of serious flooding en route and a spirited defence led by a German mercenary, Niklas Graf Salm, sent the Turks packing and marked the end of Ottoman expansion in Western Europe.
1777: Turkish Delight

Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir, confectioner to the imperial court, invented a chewy sweet flavoured with rosewater and coated in icing sugar: rahat lokum (“morsel of contentment”), better known as Turkish delight.
1854–6: Crimean War

When Russia began to encroach on Ottoman territory, Britain and France weighed in on the side of the Turks. Florence Nightingale set up a hospital in Istanbul, defining modern nursing practice (see Florence Nightingale Museum ).
1919–23: Birth of the Republic

Mustafa Kemal Paşa – or Atatürk (“Father of the Turks”) – led a bloodless revolution that abolished the sultanate, and fought a fierce war of independence. In 1923, as first president of the new Republic of Turkey, he moved the capital to Ankara, leaving Istanbul without political status for the first time in 1,600 years.
1973: Bosphorus Bridge

The Bosphorus Bridge was opened between Ortaköy and Beylerbeyi, linking European Turkey to Asian Anatolia.
2005: Talks on EU Membership Begin

Talks began on European Union membership for Turkey. Supporters pointed out that Istanbul, the powerhouse of Turkey’s economy, is European.
360

The beautiful people flock to this rooftop terrace. The club offers lounge music with dinner, and a resident DJ for a funkier dance sound after midnight. The 360º views are superb.