Istanbul – Queen of Cities

Straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, Istanbul’s strategic location has made it an incomparable cultural crossroads. Its geographical position alone seems to have destined it to be the capital of a powerful empire. In fact, it was the epicenter of two large but very different empires, the Byzantine and the Ottoman, for about 1,700 years. However, even before ascending the imperial throne, it shone as a dynamic and vibrant city for almost a thousand years, from the time it was first founded as the Greek city of Byzantium.

It’s hard not to speak in superlatives when describing this epic cradle of civilization. No other city in the world has been besieged so many times, so coveted by the people outside its walls. No other city on earth straddles two continents. Not only millennial, for centuries it was the most multicultural city in Europe, in whose streets more than a dozen languages ​​were spoken, from Italian to Persian, from Greek to Arabic. Above all, it was a city made for commerce, built for business.

“Jews, Turks and Christians uphold various Principles.

However, all one GOD recognizes, that is, GOLD”

Historical and critical letters from a gentleman from Constantinople to his friend from London, 1730

Set on a triangular headland (the area today dominated by the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya), the original city was surrounded by water on three sides. This was not a shy, withdrawn little colony, but a secure center of commerce designed to govern one of the world’s most important waterways, the Bosphorus. Control of this narrow channel connecting the Mediterranean and the Black Sea ensured political influence, a constant flow of innovative ideas and, of course, money, in the form of traffic and taxes.

Sailing the Bosphorus today offers a perfect opportunity to look at the city as sailors would have seen it centuries ago, its seven hills adorned with the most splendid mosques. Daily boat trips stop at various points along their route, such as Anadolu Kavagi almost at the entrance of the Black Sea. Here you can leave the ferry, eat at one of the fish restaurants on the waterfront, and stroll over to the ruined castle for stunning views and a leap of imagination back to the time when Jason sailed in search of the Golden Fleece.

Today, tankers compete with passenger ferries in the waters of the Bosphorus, but their number is only a small fraction of the ships that used to reach Constantinople. In Ottoman times, fifteen thousand small boats worked in the port, darkening its very waters. Frantic he may have been but disorganized he certainly was not. When it came to money, the city was a strict and disciplined governess. At the Golden Horn, the capital’s sheltered and superb deep-water port, ships moored directly on shore to unload, their cargoes carefully inspected by an army of waiting customs officials who assessed duties.

When the Byzantine Empire and the shattered city of Constantinople finally fell to Mehmet the Conqueror and his Ottoman army in 1453, shock waves rang out across Western Europe and the entire Christian world. However, Mehmet was a visionary. Just as Constantine had done more than a millennium before, in refounding Byzantium as his new capital, a new Rome, Mehmet was determined to restore the city’s fortunes and place it on an even higher pedestal.

He called for people of all races and religions to come live and work in the city. It was an open door policy based on tolerance and freedom designed to invite skill, creativity and energy. As a 15th century pasha advised the sultan, trade would set Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire on the path to success:

“Look favorably on the merchants of the earth; take care of them always; let no one bother them… because through their commerce the earth becomes prosperous and through their merchandise cheapness abounds in the world; through them excellent fame of the Sultan is carried to the surrounding lands and by them increases the wealth within the land”.

Within a few decades, a host of foreign firms crossed the welcome mat and set up shop. Armenians flourished as jewelers, artisans, and merchants. The Jews became successful perfumers, blacksmiths, and bankers. The Italians were busy importing silk, paper, and glass. Even the English were invited to the party when in 1579 Sultan Murad III wrote to Elizabeth I welcoming English merchants to come and trade in her free trade empire.

Many of these businesses operated out of the covered bazaar built by Mehmet the Conqueror, which still stands at the heart of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. You can still get a taste of the sights, smells, and sounds of what ancient Constantinople must have been like if you take some time to explore this labyrinthine city within a city. Heading down the slope towards the Spice Bazaar, the streets are lined with small shops and workshops full of artisans practicing their respective trades. They give a small hint of the cornucopia of goods that once poured into the imperial capital, from all corners of the world.

For centuries, the Ottoman Empire was the go-between for the world, its famous merchants linking three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia, all the way to China in the east. The bounty of the world did not happen only by sea. All roads led to Constantinople. Camel and mule caravans of up to 2,000 people arrived every month from every point on the horizon: from Poland to Arabia, from France to Persia.

Constantinople had been a magnet for both goods and people long before the Turks arrived. A regular stopping place for Christian pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem, once Haghia Sophia was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, the capital itself became a pilgrimage site and premier tourist destination. Haghia Sophia was not an ancient place of worship, it was the largest church in Christendom for almost a thousand years. Converted into a mosque by Mehmed the Conqueror, today it stands as an impressive museum open to people of all faiths.

Surrounding Aya Sofya are strong reminders of the city’s longevity and glorious past. A few hundred meters to the north is Topkapi Palace, where the Ottoman sultans lived and ruled in opulent splendor. A few hundred meters to the south is the Blue Mosque, whose slender minarets define the city’s skyline. In addition there is the ancient Roman hippodrome, adorned with an Egyptian obelisk. Walking around Istanbul it is hard to imagine another city that can compete with it as an open-air museum.

However, it is not a ghost town, a city dyed with wool that trades in old memories. After the demise of the Ottoman Empire, its name change to Istanbul, and its demotion from the capital city, the old city is on the rise again. Although Ankara is now the political capital of Turkey, located in the geographical heart of the country, Istanbul dwarfs it in population and also in vitality. Adorned with some of the world’s greatest architectural and artistic wonders, and with an extraordinary historical legacy around every corner, Istanbul remains Turkey’s true social, artistic and commercial center, brimming with vitality and activity. Growing at an exponential rate, from 3 million in 1970 to a behemoth of some 11 million today, the city remains the quintessential cultural crossroads. Its allure and attraction are stronger than ever: to many people, its streets still seem paved with gold.