Istanbul - the one and only... A city of legend, a fairy tale city that has connected Europe and Asia with its unique bridges over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Istanbul has not only connected the continents geographically, it has become the center of intertwining historical heritage of great civilizations.
History
In April 1204, the city, for the first time in its history, was stormed and ruthlessly plundered by the Crusaders. It in 1261 that Constantinople again came under the rule of Rome.
In 1453, the city was seized by Sultan Mehmed II and declared the capital of the Ottoman Empire, stretching from Algeria to Basra and from Budapest to Mecca. The city gets a new name - Istanbul and becomes not only the “heart” of the great empire, but also the center of the entire Islamic world.
The years of Suleiman I Kanuni (the Lawgiver), one of the most enlightened rulers of the empire and a brilliant military leader, were especially significant for the city. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire reached the peak of prosperity, significantly expanding its territory, joining Iraq, Libya and Southeastern Europe. The name of Suleiman I is also associated with the most romantic story of the dynasty of Turkish sultans, a story so incredible that even now it seems just a beautiful myth, a legend about the love of a powerful ruler to a Slavic concubine.
It is not known exactly where she came from, history has not preserved her real name, and we know her as the legendary Roksolana, the love for which the sultan carried through his life. And after her death, in memory of his favorite wife, Suleyman ordered to erect a tomb in the same place where the sultan himself was to rest - in the garden of the mosque Suleymaniye.
The period of Suleiman's reign was the peak of creativity of the great architect Koji Mimar Sinan, who built 360 different structures, including 84 mosques... Up to the XVIII century Istanbul is built up with the most magnificent mosques, madrasas and palace complexes. The influence of European architectural styles of baroque and rococo is more and more noticeable.
The end of XIX and the beginning of XX centuries were marked by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. After the victory of the national liberation movement led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the abolition of the sultanate, the country was declared a republic and its new capital was Ankara. After Ankara was given the title of the main city of the country, Istanbul did not lose its importance. Today it is the largest industrial and commercial center of Turkey, which has preserved its unique appearance of an open-air museum city, where millions of tourists from all corners of the world flock every year.
