ISTANBUL - City of Worlds' Desire

sunset at golden horn - istanbul

Each country, i think has it's title. Some aliases..
Japan is the 'Land of the Rising Sun' just bcoz the sun rises each morning in this side of of the world.
United States is 'Land of Milk and Honey' ..etcetera, etcetera..
 Well, I got interested to one of the Turkeys city - Istanbul. It is called the "City of the Worlds' Desire". I am interested as to why it was called the "city of the world's desire". What does istanbul has to be desired? What does it have to gain such a very nice title? I think it is cute, it is such a very nice title for a place.

So what I did is research about this place..

Here are some richness that the city might have to earn him his title...These are awesome, electrifying, interesting places that you wouldn't wanna miss if u go to this city.

As Alphonse de Lamartine said--"If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul."

The city is called with different names - Constantinople, Istanbul, Byzantium - and this is a rich city.

Rich in history, ambience, architecture, and culture. It is a city that was feared and envied through history. History that may traced back thousand of years ago. It has been the capital to the Eastern Roman Empire, they Byzantines and the Ottomans. And, it is the city that brought terror to Europe for three centuries.

aya sophia

It has been greatly a setting for good novels, movies, and subject of many studies.

I wonder what would it feel being there. I wonder if I could feel the ghosts of powerful people when you are around the city. The ghosts of Theodosious, Constantine, and Suleiman the Magnificent. How does every alley, every cobbled street might feel when you strolled in it.

Istanbul is squeezed in between two great continents. One side is Europe and Asia on the other. It was smack in the middle of the trade routes. And he has been powerful among else. He was desired by everyone - Greeks, Persians, Byzantines, Crusaders and finally the Turks who made it the centre of an islamic empire.

When I think of the Muslim countries around this side of the world I can always see the desert. All I see is heat, sun, dust, open lifeless flats.

topkapi

But learning about this city brings new light to my very limited knowledge of the place. It has a very great sea which was favoured most by its tourists. The sea cuts up Istanbul into three sections. Tourists mostly spend their time in the peninsula housing Topkapi and Sultanhammet.

There the great monuments are housed here: the Aya Sophia, the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar. The Golden Horn - a section of water flowing into the Bosphorus can be found North side of town and is crossed by the Galata Bridge. Across the bridge and still on the European side is hilly Beyoglu. Turkish mansions and houses line the hill as does the cities main shopping/entertainment street - Istikal Caddesi. Across the water is Asia, reachable by ferries - here lie the districts of Hyderpassa and Scutari. And railway connections which take you further into the Turkish heartland.

Reading only about the city is desirable enough ... what's more if I can go there or someone is out there? One of the many places that I desired to see and visit - well, a girl can dream..^_^
                                                   the grand bazaar

*indebted to the owners of the pictures..thanks so much. *_*