Istanbul
Istanbul is a metropolis on two continents. Located on a strait between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the city on the Bosphorus stretches over a European and an Asian part. A total of 39 districts are spread over two continents. More than two thirds of Istanbul's population lives in the European part.
Once founded by the Greeks in 660 BC as Byzantium, Istanbul, which was called Constantinople until 1920, experienced a checkered history. Plundered by Christian knights during the Crusades and later captured by the Turks, the Ottoman Empire and Constantinople rose to become a world power.
