Cold Turkey: Where to Now, Istanbul?

With over 14 million people, Istanbul ranks as the world's fifth largest city proper by population. Straddling the Bosporus, one of the world's narrowest but most heavily trafficked straits, Istanbul is an intercontinental city. It emerged as the Greek settlement of Byzantium in the mid-seventh century B.C. Rebuilt and renamed Constantinople, in honor of Constantine the Great in 330 A.D., it served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire until its fall to the Ottomans in 1453. Throughout the centuries, the city flourished as a center of trade, learning and culture.

The diversity of influences that has informed Istanbul's history can be seen in the architecture of the city, particularly its religious structures. The standout example is the Hagia Sophia, which for almost 1,000 years was the world's largest cathedral. Originally an Eastern Orthodox basilica, the church was ransacked by the Ottomans and converted into a mosque. It is now a museum and a testament to Istanbul's complex religious past.

As part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul, UNESCO-listed monuments that include the S?leymaniye Mosque and the Topkap? Palace, the Hagia contributes to Istanbul's vital tourism industry. In 2013, the city was rated the world's sixth most visited city by Forbes, with projections suggesting that it would surpass Paris, New York and Singapore by 2016. Other attractions are the Grand Bazaar, comprising over 3,000 market stalls, and the medieval Galata Tower, which affords unrivaled views of the historic quarter. And, of course, no visit to the city would be complete without a soak in the hammams, the city's famed baths.

伊斯坦堡的下一步？

人口超過 1,400 萬的伊斯坦堡是世界上人口數第五多的大城。伊斯坦堡是座洲際大城，橫跨世上最狹窄但交通卻最繁忙的博斯普魯斯海峽。這座城市在西元前七世紀中以拜占庭人的希臘殖民地而崛起。在西元 330 年，該城重建並重新命名為君士坦丁堡以紀念君士坦丁大帝，在 1453 年落入鄂圖曼人之手前，這裡一直是拜占庭帝國的首都。幾世紀以來，伊斯坦堡茁壯成長為貿易、教育與文化的中心。
伊斯坦堡的歷史所受到的各種影響可從城市建築一覽無遺，特別是宗教建築。曾貴為全球最大教堂近千年之久的聖蘇菲亞大教堂就是顯著的例子。聖蘇菲亞大教堂原本是東正教的教堂，卻被鄂圖曼人洗劫破壞並改為清真寺。它現在成為博物館，見證了伊斯坦堡複雜的宗教歷史。
作為伊斯坦堡歷史城區的一部分，和蘇萊曼清真寺、托卡比皇宮一起列名為聯合國教科文組織世界遺產的聖蘇菲亞大教堂，對伊斯坦堡重要的旅遊業貢獻甚多。在 2013 年，伊斯坦堡被《富比士》雜誌列為世界上觀光客第六多的城市，預期將在 2016 年超越巴黎、紐約和新加坡。其他景點包括可容納 3,000 多個攤位的圓頂大市集，以及可看見歷史城區無敵美景的中世紀加拉塔石塔。當然，沒去著名的浴場洗個土耳其浴，就不算來過伊斯坦堡囉。

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