Rick Steves’ Europe: A Crossroads of Civilizations in Istanbul

While the Old World magic in many parts of the city has been plowed under by modern affluence, today’s Istanbul is as rich and rewarding as it was before.

Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the early sixth century on the grandest scale possible, the Hagia Sophia was later converted from a church into a mosque by the conquering Ottomans. Carrie Shepherd, Rick Steves’ Europe

Some of my most vivid memories from my first visit to Istanbul in the 1970s are of the colorful locals. Scruffy kids sold cherry juice, and old men would grab huge cucumbers from wheeled carts, then peel, quarter, and salt them, and sell them for pennies. While the Old World magic in many parts of the city has been plowed under by modern affluence, today’s Istanbul is every bit as rich and rewarding as it was back then.

For thousands of years, Istanbul has marked the point where East meets West—a true crossroads of civilizations. Once known as Byzantium, it was named Constantinople in honor of Constantine, the Roman emperor who, around AD 330, as ancient Rome was falling, moved the capital to the less chaotic east. In 476, Rome and the Western Empire fell to invading barbarians. The city, so layered with rich history, was officially named Istanbul in 1923 with the founding of the modern Turkish Republic.