City Characteristics

Background Information

Istanbul is located in the north west part of Tukey and in the Continenet of Asia. Part of Turkey also crosses over to Europe. Istanbul is classified as part of the Marmara region and includes 39 districts. Its exact location is 41°00′49″N 28°57′18″E and covers nearly 5,200 km2 at an elavation of 100 metres. It also covers nearly 150 km2 of water.

[ background information on Istanbul ]

City Characteristics

History and Environment

Turkey was originally found and ruled by the Greeks. They owned Turkey, Istanbul and all the cities within it, for many years. It later became its own country and therfore was not owned by the Greeks any more. As seen in some of the images, Istanbul is a reasonably clean city. But as all cities are becoming, it's beginning to rely on man made structures and technology a lot more. This can lead to more buildings like sky scrapers which can have advantages and disadvantages possibly causes pollution in the city.

[ Information on the History of Istanbul ]

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a temple that has been a church over many years. It is 55 metres high and is 83 metres in length. It has a width of 73 metres and was bult between the years 532 and 537 AD. After being three different churches, it is currently a museum and has been since 1975. The church was based and similair to the Greek Authodox churches in Greece. Some of its notable elements include the massive Marble doors at the opening and the wishing column. It also includes The Lustration Urn and the Loge of the Empress. All popular features of this land mark.

[ Information the the Hagia Sophia temple ]