Istanbul

Istanbul, the city that I will be living, is the most beautiful city for me.

Istanbul is one of the great historic cities of the world. Its name was officially changed from Constantinople to Istanbul in 1930; before A.D. 330 it was known as Byzantium.

The city is visited by many tourists and is a popular resort. The environs of Istanbul, particularly the villas, gardens, castles, and small communities along the Bosporus, are famed for their beauty. The part of Istanbul corresponding to historic Constantinople is situated entirely on the European side. It rises on both sides of the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosporus, on one of the finest sites of the world, and like Rome is built on seven hills. Several miles of its ancient moated and turreted walls are still standing. Outside the walls and N of the Golden Horn are the commercial quarter of Galata, originally a Genoese settlement; the quarter of Beyoğlu (formerly Pera), which under the Ottoman sultans was reserved for foreigners and their embassies; and Hasköy, the Jewish quarter.