The first known name of the city is Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον Byzántion), the name given to it at its foundation by Megarian colonists around 657 BCE. Megarian colonists claimed a direct line back to the … See more

Istanbul is in north-western Turkey and straddles the Bosporus Strait, which provides the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Sea of Marmara. … See more

Throughout most of its history, Istanbul has ranked among the largest cities in the world. By 500 CE, Constantinople had somewhere between … See more

Politically, Istanbul is seen as the most important administrative region in Turkey. In the run-up to local elections in 2019, Erdoğan claimed 'if we fail in Istanbul, we will fail in Turkey'. The contest in Istanbul carried deep political, economic and symbolic … See more

Neolithic artifacts, uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that Istanbul's historic peninsula was settled as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. … See more

Districts and neighborhoods
European side
The Fatih district, which was named after Mehmed II ( See more

Since 2004, the municipal boundaries of Istanbul have been coincident with the boundaries of its province. The city, considered capital of the larger Istanbul Province, is administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM, Turkish: İstanbul Büyükşehir … See more