Thursday, March 05, 2009

Istanbul today

"Istanbul today

By Mohammad al-Asad

Istanbul is one of the great cities of the world. Its rich heritage spans the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras. Its Roman remains feature the city aqueducts and the Hippodrome of Constantinople. The Byzantine period is most notably represented by the sixth-century Church of Hagia Sophia, a masterpiece of world architecture. The city is most identified, however, with its Ottoman heritage, which dates back to its conquest by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II in 1453. This rich heritage includes a breathtaking range of monuments such as the imperial Topkapi Palace, which Mehmet II begun, but was greatly expanded by his successors over the following centuries; the majestic mid-sixteenth-century."

More:Jordan Times