{"id":2363,"date":"2015-07-12T13:20:34","date_gmt":"2015-07-12T17:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svetanyc.com\/?p=2363"},"modified":"2017-10-02T08:06:42","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T12:06:42","slug":"istanbul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/192.168.2.119:1984\/svetanyc\/2015\/07\/istanbul\/","title":{"rendered":"Istanbul, Turkey. July 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Istanbul<\/a> – the only city that lies on both continents – is a place of wonder, curiosity, immense cultural tensity, history, architecture, food and human density. It is a place to be visited by everyone at least once in their lifetime, and\u00a0it\u00a0won’t leave you adamant or unbiased. It is a megapolis that,\u00a0to some extent,\u00a0carries on the traditions of a legendary city\u00a0of Constantinople<\/a>, its heritage, arts and tales. I have already visited Istanbul in 2000 as a law student and I, frankly, hated it. Not the city, but the obnoxious, stalking Turkish men who followed me around. I was 20 years old, it was my first cultural experience outside\u00a0Belarus<\/a>, and even though I enjoyed the museums and sights, I preferred\u00a0to stay at a\u00a0hotel. I am glad I’ve been given another chance to visit this place (even as a layover from Malta to Belarus) as it changed my entire perspective of the city (but not the Turkish men, sadly). Before I begin, I would like to thank Tanya and her Frenchman friend Nico for making the best out of my 24 hours in Istanbul!<\/p>\n

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Istanbul is one of the most populous cities in the world (14 million people) and is Turkey’s economic, cultural and historic center. Once I had a conversation with a group of\u00a0Oxford dons who twice a year travel\u00a0to see the most interesting historical\/cultural sites in the world and they told me that Turkey was one of their most visited places. Indeed, the country’s strategic location between Asia and Europe left us many vistas that have seen and survived the great empires of the Persians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans. It all culminates in Istanbul – the final stage of the legendary Silk Roads<\/a>.\u00a0However the\u00a0turbulent history of\u00a0Istanbul\u00a0is full of contrasts and contradictions. Once, the capital of the\u00a0Eastern Roman Empire, it\u00a0was the\u00a0stronghold of\u00a0Christendom, now, it is predominantly Muslim;\u00a0a place that for centuries was the world’s largest market tolerant\u00a0to\u00a0cultures and religions, in April 1915 it became an opening act of the Armenian Genocide<\/a>, the first systematic ethnic cleansing in the human history. Now,\u00a0buckle up and let me take you through the history of Istanbul.<\/p>\n

Literature.<\/strong><\/p>\n