25 REASONS TO VISIT Istanbul
Istanbul is the flipside of many coins. It’s a vibrant, modern city built on the stone of two vanished world empires: the Byzantine and the Ottoman. It spans two continents: Asia and Europe. It’s conservative – yet open. Istanbul has been populated by Turks, Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Catholics, Jews, and a smattering of British, French and German peoples. Add to this a glorious setting on the Bosphorus, the strait that unites the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and you have a heady mix of intrigue and the exotic.
Two new megaprojects have come to fruition recently. Most notably, the new Galataport district, which has opened up the city to the Bosphorus with a gleaming new waterfront. Lined with a mix of shops, restaurants and museums, the district lies on a kilometres-long stretch along the sea, facing the minaret-dominated city skyline in the distance.
After a decade of construction, the Atatürk Cultural Center (also known as AKM) has also opened its doors. It contains an opera house and multipurpose spaces for performing arts and exhibitions.
