What about Turkey and Istanbul History ?

Historical and geographical situation of the country

Turkey is a nation of 75 million inhabitants. Turkey is also the 15th biggest economy in the world and is ranked as the 10th most powerful army in the world. Since a few decades, the Turkish democracy has known an incredible modernization showing its will to integrate the European Union. However recently, Turkey is going through a time of trouble. Fueled by terrorism and an unprecedented migratory crisis, its institutions are shaken by palpable political instability, which culminated in the abortive coup of 15 July 2016. Since these events, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the state of emergency and took exceptional measures.

The territory of the Republic of Turkey is divided between Anatolia and Eastern Thrace (attached to the Balkan Peninsula). It is bordered by the Black Sea at the north and the Mediterranean Sea (the Aegean Sea to the west, the Marmara Sea to the northwest and the Levantine Basin to the south). The European part of Turkey is located at the west of the Bosphorus Strait and the Dardanelles Strait. This area is called Trakya in Turkish and corresponds to the eastern part of Thrace.

Turkish are very patriotic. There are Turkish flags and Erdoğan's portrait everywhere in the street.

Istanbul

Istanbul is officially and historically called Constantinople since 1930, it is the largest city and metropolis of Turkey. Its prefecture and province occupies about 50% of the area but more than 97 % Population. Istanbul is listed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Istanbul is the main financial, commercial and industrial center of Turkey, but also the cultural capital of the country. The population of the entire Istanbul metropolitan area is estimated at 15 million inhabitants in 2014. It is one of the largest megacity in the world. With an important cultural and historical heritage, the cosmopolitan city is a center of tourism.

Islam is the predominant religion in Turkey. About 99.5% of the population is Muslim. The majority of Muslims are Sunnis. The Alevis community, a distinct Muslim current, accounts for 20% of the population. Christianity (Eastern Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic) and Judaism (Sephardic) are the other minority religions in Turkey. They represent less than 1.5% of the population.

There are 3 028 mosque, 40 churches and 16 synagogues in Istanbul.

- A tukish man prying in front of Ortakoy's mosque -

- Ortakoy mosque -

- Suliman's mosque -