The sun sets on Istanbul's legendary Blue Mosque, completed in 1616. The stately mosque features six minarets instead of the typical four.It used to be called Constantinople where Baha'u'llah spent 4 months in 1963 before being banished to Edirne.
This city's destiny seems to come in linked pairs. A domed Christian church, Hagia Sofia, built by Justinian in the sixth century, was converted to a mosque with minarets in the 15th century. The city knew one empire, the Byzantine, heir to the Roman, and another, the Ottoman Empire of Turks. One part of the city lies in Europe; its counterpart lies in Asia. The waterway between them links two seas. The fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 closed one trade route to Asia and prompted explorations of others to the south and west.
Istanbul, Turkey Fast Facts
Population City 9,631,700
Elevation: 24 meters 78 feet'"
Temperature:
January 9°/3°C (48°/37°F)
July 28°/19°C (83°/65°F)
Average daily High/Low °C (°F)
ECONOMY
Industry: textiles, food processing, autos, mining, steel, petroleum.
Agriculture: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives; livestock.
Exports: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment.
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