History of Istanbul

It was colonised by the Greeks in the 7th century BC. It fell to the Roman Empire in AD 196, and was known as Byzantium until 330, when it was renamed Constantinople and made the new capital of the Roman Empire. … Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which ended with the Muslim conquest in 1453.

was returned to Byzantine rule in 1261. In 1453 it was captured by the Ottoman Empire and made the Ottoman capital. When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.

The ottomans took it over in 1923 and renamed it Istanbul.

Iconic locations in Istanbul

Grand bazzar

The grand bazzar is a big market to sell spices and other goods in the wonderful city in Istanbul!

View on Ayasofya museum and cityscape of Istanbul at sunrise, Turkey

This is the Hagia Sofia Museum in Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Topkapi Palace in Sultanahmet, Istanbul City, Turkey

This is the Topkapi palace.

Topkapi, a large museum in Istanbul, Turkey. In the 15th century, it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans. Construction began in 1459, ordered by Mehmed the Conqueror, six years after the conquest of Constantinople.