Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Photo credit: PhotoDisc

Rarely will a visit to Turkey exclude the burgeoning, chaotic, confused, messy, muddled, and glorious wonder that is Istanbul. Istanbul is home to a layering of civilization on civilization, of empire built on empire. It's as momentous as Rome, as captivating as Paris, and as exotic as Bangkok (this last is potentially a bad thing).

A city that straddles both Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a symbol of greatness, coveted historically by everyone from Xerxes all the way down the historic dateline through World War I, when Russia was green with envy over the possibilities of what free passage through the Bosphorus Straits could do for its economy. Even today, foreign commerce gets a free ride as hundreds of thousands of sometimes oversized and hazardous ships stream up and down this epic waterway.

The traditions inherited from 2,500 years of history are most evident in the Old City, known as Old Stamboul or Sultanahmet. A stroll through this historic peninsula will reveal ancient Roman hippodromes, peristyles, and aqueducts, the greatest excesses of the Byzantine Empire, the mystique and power of the Ottoman Empire, and the dubious sales tactics used by the city's self-made entrepreneurs. As a religious center (heart of the Greek Orthodox Church as well as the Islamic faith for centuries), Istanbul is the custodian of one of the world's most important cultural heritages and home to some of the world's most opulent displays of art and wealth. Early Greek civilization left us the building blocks for Rome and Byzantium, which swathed these earlier foundations in rich mosaics and left its mark in monuments such as the Hippodrome and Ayasofya. Even Fatih Mehmet II was astounded at the beauty of the city he had finally conquered. The Ottoman dynasty redirected the city's fortunes into the imperial majesty of undulating domes and commanding minarets, and the sumptuousness of Topkapi Palace.

Across the Golden Horn is the modern heart of the city, heir to the future of the country, vibrant with all the electricity of a cutting-edge international metropolis. Although the political capital sits safely in the heartland, this part of Istanbul projects itself into the world as Turkey's ambassador of art, entertainment, music, and education.

Today Istanbul is home to almost 14 million of the 65 million people living in Turkey, many of whom are poor village folk who've migrated to the big bad city out of economic need. Over brunch, the residents of the more prosperous neighborhoods along the Bosphorus revile the poor wedged into the squalid back streets of Galata, while the religious fundamentalists of the Fatih neighborhood stare out through their veils in disapproval. All of the contradictions of a complex society in transition converge in Istanbul; the city is a microcosm of the tug-of-war between East and West and the "haves" and the "have-nots." Many of these have-nots develop get-rich-quick schemes to capitalize on the traffic brought in by the city's monumental past. It's a cold, calculating, and cruel world out there, but with a little mental preparedness, one that can be easily overcome. In Rome, preadolescent gypsies prey on tourists, in New York, it's the street dice men, and in Istanbul, it's just about anybody multilingual in Sultanahmet.

Yet, however nonrepresentative Istanbul is of Turkey as a whole, however unscrupulous the merchants can be, and however disinterested much of the population may be over the city's fantastic roots, Istanbul is so exotic, wonderful, complex, and utterly monumental, that once seen, it's impossible to break free from its spell.

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