Istanbul – from Transcontinental to World City

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Pages: 323-336
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/AYPR7008

Abstract:

The rise and development of Istanbul is to great extent due to its extraordinary geographical position on the border of two continents – Europe and Asia. The ancient and medieval Bysantion/ Constantinople developed on the crossroad of maritime and terrestrial ways: the north-south Bosphorus maritime way and the east-west “Balkan diagonal” terrestrial way. Constantinople had the function of the capital city of Byzantium till 1453 and then, under the name of Istanbul, became the capital of the Ottoman Empire and of the Turkish Republic till 1923. It is constantly one of the important cities of Europe and the Orient. But with the territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire it became impossible for Istanbul to control the periphery. In addition, the European imperialism came, aiming to control the Straits. This was one of the main reasons for the president of the young Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to move the capital city to Ankara – in Central Anatolia, far away from the vulnerable Istanbul. The loss of the functions of a capital set Istanbul in the shadow of Ankara until 1960s. After that, the good transport position of Istanbul enhanced its trade and industrial functions and as a result revived the internal and international trade. Istanbul turned into the economic capital of Turkey. Even more its development during the last decades has been toward becoming a world city.

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NA / Austria / Bulgaria / China / Cote D'Ivoire / Europe / France / Germany / Greece / Portugal / Russian Federation / Spain / Switzerland / Turkey / Ukraine / United Kingdom / United States