Istanbul Full Video Guide 🇹🇷 Turkey

With its spectacular location spanning several important bodies of water, Istanbul has been settled by humans since before recorded history. Bridging and connecting two continents, Europe and Asia, Istanbul is an urban center where various cultures and religions have combined, survived and succeeded each other over the centuries. Istanbul today epitomizes the definition of a great city, not only because of its vast population and the area it covers, but also thanks to the variety of cultures and ways of life that can be found within its city limits. This cultural structure that enables many elements in apparent contradiction with each other to exist side by side in an at times uneasy harmony is the product of thousands of years of accumulated history. Although the earliest settlements on the site of modern-day Istanbul date from the prehistoric period, continuous stable settlements date from the colonial period, when the area came under the dominion of the Roman Empire. After the Roman era, the Byzantine and Ottoman periods were the most significant epochs in the history of the city. In both of these periods, Istanbul defined itself as a political and religious capital, becoming in turn a major center of Christianity and Islam. This extraordinary heritage can be seen in the many great monuments, both religious and civil, built during the Byzantine and Ottoman eras that grace Istanbul to this day. Overshadowing Istanbul's traditional architecture is one of the world's largest suspension bridges, the Bosphorus Bridge, which links the Balkans and Anatolia, and thus Europe and Asia. In 1970, ground was broken for the bridge that was to be 1,560 meters long, with a width of 33.40 meters and an altitude of 64 meters. Any visit to Istanbul would not be complete without the traditional yet unforgettable boat excursion up the Bosphorus, the winding strait that separates Europe and Asia. Its shores offer a delightful mixture of past and present, grand splendor and simple beauty. Modern hotels stand next to yali, the traditional Turkish shorefront wooden villas, marble palaces about rustic stone fortresses, and elegant compounds neighbor small fishing villages. The Bosphorus is the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. More than any other place in the city, visitors flock to Istanbul to see Hagia Sophia, at once one of Istanbul's most prominent symbols and one of the most important structures in all of world architecture. Hagia Sophia was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Although it is a Byzantine structure, Hagia Sophia is nonetheless a typical example of the Roman architectural tradition. When it was built, Hagia Sophia was unlike any structure that had come before it, and its architectural dimensions would not be surpassed by another building for a thousand years. Although its original name was indeed Hagia Sophia, it is often mistakenly thought that it was named after Saint Sophia. In fact, the name Sophia, as applied to Hagia Sophia, is not the name of a saint at all, but a reference to the second member of Christianity's holy trinity, the Holy Wisdom. During the first period of its existence, it was known by the Byzantine people as the Giant Church, and only began to be known as Hagia Sophia after Istanbul fell to the Turks in the year 1453. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the original Hagia Sophia, which was built on the site in the 4th century by Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Christian emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople, which he called the New Rome. The Hagia Sophia was one of several great churches he built in the most important cities throughout his empire. Following the destruction of Constantine's church, a second was built by his son Constantius and the emperor Theodosius the Great. This second church was burned down during the Nica riots of 532, though fragments of it have been excavated and are visible today. The first structure, known as Hagia Sophia, a closed basilica covered by a wooden roof, was built in the year 360. This early structure was frequently damaged by the many uprisings and fires throughout its history. Finally, in around 560, the emperor Justinian I decided to construct a magnificent house of worship, rather than repair the old structure. In order to do so, he contracted two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Trales, who were professors of geometry at the University of Constantinople. The emperor spared no expense in his goal to create a place of worship unlike any other that had been seen up until that time. Materials for the construction, which lasted five years, were gathered immediately from every direction. Pillars were even taken from the pagan temples of Ephesus and Artemis for use in the building. Justinian's basilica was both the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim worlds alike. For over 900 years, the Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and a principal setting for church councils and imperial ceremonies. Hagia Sophia has suffered significant damage on many occasions since it was built. The most serious of these occurred during the time of the Fourth Crusade. In the year 1204, the knights who had taken the city plundered many of Hagia Sophia's holy and valuable relics in the name of Christianity. This event cemented the division of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches that had begun with the Great Schism of 1054. It also means that most of Hagia Sophia's riches can be seen today not in Istanbul, but in the treasury of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. On May 29, 1453, the day that Istanbul was conquered by the Muslims, Fatih Sultan Mehmed went directly to Hagia Sophia upon entering the city. He was amazed at the beauty of the church and immediately converted it into his imperial mosque. Hagia Sophia served as the principal mosque of Istanbul for almost 500 years. It was also to serve as the model for many of the Ottoman mosques of Istanbul, such as the Blue Mosque, the Suleyman Mosque, the Heşehzade Mosque, and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Over time, the building was filled with objects unique to the culture of the Ottoman period. In this way, the building today remains a masterpiece, displaying the influence of each of the two religions and cultures that defined Istanbul. One of two great marble urns in the nave of the Hagia Sophia, both of which date from Hellenistic or Roman times. The Hagia Sophia has a classical basilica plan. The main ground plan of the building is a rectangle, 70 meters in width and 75 meters in length. The area is covered by a central dome with a diameter of 31 meters, which is just slightly smaller than that of the Pantheon in Rome. The interior surfaces are sheathed with green and white polychrome marble adorned with purple porphyry and gold mosaics. Because Byzantium remained strongly under the influence of Rome at the time of the church's construction, this structure is an amalgam of the magnificence of Roman architecture with classical Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture. The original mosaics of the church were severely damaged by the iconoclasts, but new mosaics replaced the earlier ones in the 9th century after the end of the second iconoclast period. This large platform is called a Mudsen Mafili and was used by readers of the Quran during services. This beautiful apse mosaic, depicting the enthroned virgin and child, is the oldest of the surviving mosaics in Hagia Sophia. The Islamic calligraphic rondelles suspended from the main dome since the 19th century remain in place. The beautiful marble structure in the apse is a mihrab, a niche found in all mosques that indicates the direction of Mecca. The round structure in the background is the 16th century Sultan's Lodge. With its massive dome, 40 windows, 100 square meter columns, impressive history, and beautifully restored architecture, the church of Hagia Sophia is This rectangular pillar is known by many fabulous names. Legend has it that if you successfully complete a 360-degree circle with your thumb in the hole, you will be granted a wish. The gallery level is adorned with several splendid Byzantine mosaics. The deeply hollowed out marble columns, so characteristic of that era, play lovely games with the shadows and interior light. The marble door leads to the main part of the south gallery, which contains several superb mosaics. The door is made to look like a screen, complete with a lock and key. The south gallery was where church councils and imperial ceremonies were held in the Byzantine era. Shown here are a few of the lovely details of the decoration on the arches of the upper gallery. This 13th century mosaic depicts the diocese, O Christ Pantocrator, flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist. Located above the door to the vestibule of the warriors is a mosaic of the Virgin with Constantine and Justinian, also known as the Mosaic of the Donors. The Column of Constantine, built by Emperor Constantine VII in the 10th century, has been recently restored. It was once covered with embossed copper and brass plates that were visible from a great distance, but these were removed during the Latin invasion of the 13th century to be used to mint coins. The Serpent Pillar, brought by Constantine from Delhi, is made from 29 coils. According to local legend, the coils keep scorpions, centipedes, snakes and other pests from the city. The obelisk, or Dikelites, erected by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in 1450 BCE, was brought to Constantinople from Egypt by the Emperor Julian, son of Constantine I. The four faces of the obelisk are inscribed with hieroglyphics, extolling the bravery of the pharaoh Thutmose, who had it built to commemorate an important victory. It also depicts scenes from activities taking place in the Hippodrome. This area in Sultanahmet Square has long been the center of the various civilizations which ruled Istanbul. During the Roman and Byzantine eras, it was used as a hippodrome, while under the Ottoman Empire it was an equestrian square. Over its long history, the square, with a capacity to hold some 100,000 people, served as the center of entertainment, coronation ceremonies, and victory parades. Lining one side of the square is a Turkish and Islamic arts museum, which is housed in the former palace of Ibrahim Pasha, the first Grand Vizier to Suleiman the Magnificent. The palace was built in 1524. The Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul's most important monuments, immediately astounds every visitor to the city. Located directly opposite the Hagia Sophia Museum, the mosque takes its name from Sultanahmet Square. It is the most important of the mosques to be built as an endowment to the city during the Ottoman Empire. The Sultanahmet Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I and built between 1609 and 1616. Its English name, the Blue Mosque, stems from the more than 20,000 blue iznik tiles which decorate the interior of the structure. The Blue Mosque is the most typical example of classic Turkish Ottoman architecture, and was the first mosque to include six minarets in its original design. Although the Blue Mosque was not designed by the legendary Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, whose unparalleled works can be seen throughout Istanbul, it bears the stamp of his influence. The mosque was designed by the architect Mehmet Aga, whose unfortunate predecessor was found wanting and thus executed. Sultan Ahmet was so anxious for his magnificent creation to be completed that he often personally assisted in the construction work. He died just a year after the completion of his masterpiece, at the age of 27. The original mosque complex included a madrasa, hospital, khan, primary school, market, and emirate, as well as the tomb of its founder, though most of these buildings were torn down in the 19th century. One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque is visible from far away. Its six minarets, which soaring into the sky, form an unforgettable part of Istanbul's skyline. The mosque has an outer courtyard accessible by several gates, as well as an elevated inner courtyard, named the Latecomer's Courtyard, which is paved in marble and surrounded by a portico with small domes. The fountain at the center of the mosque's courtyard is no longer used for ritual ablutions. Instead, the faithful use taps ranged along the outside of the courtyard. Washing the face, arms, neck, feet, mouth, and nose is seen as an integral part of the act of prayer. The large courtyard is flanked by a colonnaded portico with a huge monumental gateway. On both sides of the gate are two huge minarets, each of which has two balconies, or serefe. The other striking feature of the exterior is the beautifully arranged cascade of domes that seem to spill down from the Great Central Dome. The arcades running beneath each dome add further visual rhythm. Taking its name from the mosque of the same name, the Quarter of Suleymaniye in the Aymenon district on the historical peninsula boasts a number of Ottoman architectural works and, by close association, is an eminent symbol of the Ottoman era. Foremost in importance among Istanbul's mosque complexes is that of Suleymaniye. Both its façade and interior inspire awe in the beholder. The mosque complex of Suleymaniye was the work of imperial architect Sinan, perhaps the most gifted architect of the Ottoman era. The mosque is modeled in part on the style of a Byzantine basilica, particularly the Hagia Sophia, which was perhaps a conscious move on the part of the sultan to create a continuity and a symbolic connection with the city's past. Construction of the mosque itself began in 1550 and was completed in 1557. The mosque is surrounded by an outer courtyard with a kiba, or direction to Mecca, located on one side, along with an enclosed cemetery containing graves and a mausoleum. The opposite side of the kibla contains an inner courtyard. In the garden behind the main mosque are two mausoleums housing the tombs of Sultan Suleyman I, his wife Rakselana, his daughter Mirimah, his mother Dilasub Seliha, and his sister Asiye. Suleyman's tomb features a system of layered domes copied from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The Suleyman Mosque was ravaged by fire in 1660 and restored by the architect Fusatu following the orders of Sultan Mehmed IV. The restoration, however, gave the mosque a more baroque style, severely compromising its original splendor. The mosque was restored to its original glory during the 19th century. During World War I, however, the courtyard was used as a weapons depot, and when some of the ammunition ignited, the mosque suffered another fire. Not until 1956 was it again restored. Today, the Suleyman Mosque is one of the most popular sites in Istanbul. Because Sinan had also worked on the Hagia Sophia, he became intimately familiar with its form and structure. Thus, it is not surprising that it exercised a significant influence on much of his work. Of his buildings, conceptually the Suleymaniye is perhaps the most similar to the Hagia Sophia. The buildings share the basic concept of a central domed space, made larger with attached semi-domed spaces, which in turn have smaller spaces attached and topped by smaller domes. Because the dome of the Hagia Sophia was considered to be a great feat for the Christians, Sinan designed the dome of the Suleymaniye to send the message that not only were Muslims just as capable as Christians, but, with an even larger and higher dome, that they were superior. The fountain of Sultan Ahmed III is a Turkish rococo structure located in the Great Square in front of the imperial gate of Topkapı Palace. The fountain is made of solid marble and inscribed on the side facing the square are verses by the famous Divan poet Nedim. On the wall facing the mosque are excerpts from the poet Rami, while on another wall are those of the poet Şakir. On the wall facing the Bosphorus one can read calligraphy The Topkapı Palace is surrounded by high walls. The main gate, called Bab-ı Hümeyyan, or simply the Imperial Gate, opens up to the Hagia Sophia Square. This massive gate, originally dating from 1478, is now covered in 19th century marble. The massiveness of this stone gate accentuates its defensive character, while its central arch leads to the high domed passage. The Imperial Gate is the main entrance into the first courtyard. During their 400 years of reign at Topkapı, each sultan added a different section or hall to the palace, in accordance with his tastes or the needs of the time. Therefore the palace is formed by a maze of buildings centered around a series of courtyards, protected by different gates. The first courtyard is ringed by such important buildings as the Istanbul Archaeological Museum Complex, the Imperial Mint, and the Church of Hagerene. The Byzantine Church of Hagerene was never destroyed by the conquering Ottomans, since they used it as a storehouse and imperial armory. The second gate, the Gate of Salutation, was completed in 1478. Above its crest-style door facing the first yard is the signature and calligraphy of Sultan Mahmut II, while the sides bear the signatures of Mustafa III. Octagonal roofed towers stand at each side of the doors. The walls of Constantinople are a series of stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they are one of the greatest and most complex fortification systems ever built. Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the walls were expanded, and the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, when well manned, they were almost impregnable for any medieval besieger, saving the city and the Byzantine Empire with it during sieges from the Avars, Arabs, Rus, and Bulgars, among others. Only the advent of gunpowder siege cannons rendered the fortifications obsolete, resulting in the final siege and fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453. The Mevlevihane Gate was known in ancient times as the Gate of Regium. The walls remained largely intact during most of the Ottoman period, until sections began to be dismantled in the 19th century, as the city outgrew its medieval boundaries. Despite the subsequent lack of maintenance, many parts of the walls survived and are still standing today. A large-scale restoration program has been underway for the past 20 years, allowing visitors to appreciate the original appearance of the walls. The Byzantine Wall was divided into three sections. The Marmara Sea Walls, the Golden Horn Walls, and the Land Walls. The walls had over 300 large towers for its defense, and about 55 gates giving access to the city. 19 of the gates were at the Sea Wall, 25 at the Golden Horn Wall, and 11 at the Land Wall. The city wall was about 22 kilometers in total, 9 to 12 meters high, and 2 to 5 meters thick. There was a water canal in front of the Land Walls to stop anyone from trying to scale the wall with the help of ladders or digging a tunnel underneath. This is the Belgrade Gate. Its modern Turkish name derives from the fact that Suleyman the Magnificent settled here the hundreds of craftsmen he captured after the conquest of Belgrade in 1521. Galata Tower was built by a Genoese colony in 1348 as a part of their fortifications. From the early 13th century after the Fourth Crusade, there had been a Genoese settlement in the city when Latin kings ruled the city from 1204 to 1216. Those who built the tower were the descendants of these crusaders. The Genoese were involved in trade with the Byzantines, and the tower was used for the surveillance of the harbor in the Golden Horn. After the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II, it served to detect fires in the city. The upper section of the tower with its conical cap was slightly modified as a result of various restorations during the Ottoman period. It was called the Chrysteia Turris, Tower of Christ, by the Genoese, and the Megalospirgos, the Great Tower, by the Byzantines. Until recent times, no neighborhood of Istanbul was without its fountains, and if the districts outside the city walls and the villages along the Bosphorus are included, these urban fountains numbered in the hundreds. One magnificent fountain dating from the Tulepera is the Bereketzade fountain near Galata Tower. Built in 1732 during the reign of Mahmud I, it supplied the inhabitants of with water. The aqueduct of Valens dates from around 368 AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Valens, and was a major system by which water was provided to medieval Constantinople and Roman Byzantium. Restored by a succession of Ottoman sultans, it is one of the city's most important landmarks and can best be viewed when it crosses a major Atatürk boulevard road. The surviving section is 921 meters long, about 50 meters less than the original length. Water from the hills was stored in three open reservoirs and over 100 underground cisterns, such as the Basilica Cistern, with a total capacity over 1 million cubic meters. Besides the historical and cultural heritage of the city, natural beauty also plays a considerable role in the creation of Istanbul's unique atmosphere. With its vital geopolitical significance of dividing two continents, the Bosphorus stands out among the primary natural features of Istanbul with its recesses and projections, big and small. Colorful houses and the promenade near the Galata Bridge are favorite places for Istanbul's residents. Bridges have a special fascination for people and tend to acquire their own stories and legends. This is true of Istanbul, where bridges have found their way into folklore and become a treasured feature of the urban landscape. Therefore, to treat the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn merely from the historic angle would present only half the story. This bridge has not only been a means of getting from one side of the waterway to the other, but like one of its famous personages, has exercised symbolic and spiritual significance in the lives of Istanbul's residents. The oldest recorded bridge in Istanbul was built over the Golden Horn in 1453 during the Turkish siege of the city. In the years 1502-1503, plans to construct a permanent bridge there were discussed, and with this object a design was sketched by Leonardo da Vinci, showing a single-span bridge with double pillars at either end, 350 meters long and 24 meters wide. However, technical drawbacks made it impossible to realize this project, and another Italian artist, Michelangelo, was invited to design a bridge for Istanbul. Michelangelo rejected the proposal, and the idea of building a bridge here was shelved until the 19th century. The first Galata Bridge at the mouth of the waterway was constructed in In 1870, a contract was signed with a French company for the construction of a third bridge, but the outbreak of war between France and Germany delayed the project, which was eventually given to the British firm G. Wells in 1872. The fourth Galata Bridge was built in 1912. This bridge, still familiar to many people today, was badly damaged in a fire in 1992, and towed up the Golden Horn to make way for the modern bridge now in use. The Galata Bridge provided an important symbolic link between the traditional city of Istanbul proper, site of the imperial palace and principal religious and secular institutions of the empire, and the districts of Galata, Bayul, Sisli, and Harbeye, many of whose inhabitants were non-Muslims, and where foreign merchants and diplomats lived and worked. In this respect, the bridge provided an essential bond between these two distinctive cultures and parts of the city's identity. Life in Istanbul is nowhere better witnessed than by spending some time on one of the city's major arteries. Iştiklal Avenue is one of Istanbul's most famous streets. The avenue, lined by Greek-style buildings, begins in the medieval Genoese neighborhood around Galata Tower, and ultimately leads up to Taksim Square. During the Ottoman period, the avenue was called Kade-i Keber, or Grand Avenue, and was a popular spot for Ottoman intellectuals. It also became a center for European foreigners and the local Italian and French Levantines, who referred to it as the Grand Rue de Pera. Old-fashioned tramway cars rattle and clank along Iştiklal Kadeşi from Taksim Square to Tunel Square, just as they did in the 19th century heyday of this Europeanized corner of the Ottoman Sultan's domain. The cosmopolitan avenue is surrounded by an array of historical and politically significant buildings. The street's atmosphere changes according to the time of day and day of the week, though it almost always ensures a sensory assault that will leave an indelible impression of a dynamic and vibrant street culture. The Flower Passage is the L-shaped courtyard of a building called the Site de Pera, one of the first European-style buildings, constructed during the Ottoman Empire's late 19th century effort to modernize. In its 19th and early 20th century heyday, the Site de Pera building housed posh shops on its ground floor in the passage, and offices on the floors above. Today it is filled with restaurants. Every evening, the tables are filled with Turks and foreigners who come to talk, eat, laugh, and linger over many plates of medze, succulent kebabs, seafood, desserts, and glass after glass of milky Turkish rakı. Beneath the canopies of the grand covered market Balık Pazarı is some of the finest fish Turkey has to offer, along with exotic spices, fruits, vegetables, and even jewelry. The vendors sell fish from all over the country, octopus from Bodrum, calamari from Antalya, and prawns from Kanakale. Nevizade is a small street parallel to Iştiklal Avenue located behind the historical flower passage, and easily accessible via the fish bazaar. Mehanes, Turkish taverns, line the street, offering customers a dizzying assortment of medzes, seafood, and rakı, a real Turkish feast. Throughout its history, Istanbul has always been an important city. Located at the crossroads of important trade routes, it has long enjoyed a great deal of international attention, which in turn helped fuel the city's prosperity. Since the earliest days of human settlement here, commerce was an important part of the city's livelihood, and its bazaars were filled with all kinds of items to be bought and sold, as well as buyers and sellers from all over the known world. This commercial activity has left its mark on Istanbul, which has retained its old bazaars, and the tradition of shopping continues to this day in the many malls both ancient and modern of this great city. The covered bazaar, which draws many shoppers, both local and foreign, is housed in a building which has long held an important place in the economic and social life of the Ottoman Empire. The market was originally formed from a few historical bedistans, or auction rooms, and antique markets. The Old or Inner Benistan and New Benistan, built in the period of Fatih Mehmet II, are the most important parts of the Grand Bazaar. Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world. Today, the bazaar covers an area of approximately 31,000 square meters, with its 3,000 to 4,000 shops, 17 inns, 61 streets, over 20,000 employees, 4 fountains, 10 wells, 2 mosques, many cafes and restaurants, exchange offices, police station, and 22 gates. Istanbul's bazaar is justly famous for its jewelry, spices, beautiful Turkish carpets, glazed tiles and pottery, copper and brassware, apparel made of leather, cotton and wool, meerschaum pipes, alabaster bookends, ashtrays, and much, much more. Today, the Grand Bazaar is very popular for tourists looking for traditional goods and souvenirs. There are thousands of things to be found and bought in the Grand Bazaar, but you can also go there just to do some window shopping, enjoy the local people, and the Turkish hospitality. Owing to its location, architecture, history, and sheer size, it is one of the most significant tourist sites in Istanbul. Depending on the season, between 250,000 and 400,000 people visit the bazaar every day. The bazaar, which is located next to the first Ottoman palace built by Mehmet the Conqueror in Beyazit, was originally intended to house shops that provided a safe place for merchants and the wealthy to deposit precious stones and other valuables. Auction rooms and antiquity markets, also called bedestan, built out of stone to protect them from fire, constitute the most important commercial buildings of Ottoman Istanbul, forming its busy center of trade. The earliest example of these is the Inner Auction Room, or Old Bazaar, built in the period of Mehmet the Second. The building is covered by 15 domes resting on brick arches. The alleys that snake through the bazaar were created as wooden stalls built around the vault-covered auction rooms and antique shops, thus forming today's market. The nearby inns were later added to the covered bazaar. Generally, streets of shops devoted to one particular trade, or arasa, were formed in large complexes. The most famous example of these formations are the streets behind the Sultanahmet, or Blue Mosque. Artisans from various vocational groups have sold their handicrafts on the streets of the Grand Bazaar for centuries. Long ago, a number of commercial rules were strictly enforced, and as a result, the streets of the covered bazaar were named after various vocations to which they were devoted, such as the fesseler, fezmakers, telekseler, slippermakers, kümküler, jewelrymakers, aynasiler, mirrormakers, or kapaksiler, fur cap makers. These names are still in use today, though there is no longer any strict separation of vocations within the bazaar. A number of churches grace the center of the city. The architect of the Church of St. Anthony, Giulio Mongheri, who was born in Istanbul, gave it its distinctive Italian neo-gothic style. Today, Istanbul's largest church, with its busy congregation, is still run by Italian priests. The church was built in a courtyard, while the entrance of the church is on the main street between two apartments, which were built to raise money for its construction. The city of Istanbul has two completely separate heritage tram systems, one on the European side, the other on the Asian side, and the sight of these old-fashioned trams moving up and down its streets is one of the city's most distinctive features. After closing the tram network in the mid-1960s, the people of Istanbul thought that they had removed an important obstacle to modernizing the urban transport system, and that traffic in the city could move faster than before. But this assumption was shortly proved wrong. The city had a large tramway network on both the Asian and European sides, which started as horse-pulled trams but gradually changed to electric. Many routes were built step by step, with the network reaching its greatest extent in 1956, with 108 million passengers and 270 shuttles and 56 lines. Another way to visit the city is to use the Tunnel, a short underground railway line or funicular, with two stations which connects two of the city's neighborhoods. In the 19th century, the districts of Galata and Pera were the most important business areas of Constantinople. Galata, at the bottom, was where trading took place, as well as where the stock exchange and the customs house were located. On top of the hill was Pera, with its hotels, embassies, and elegant residences. The two districts were connected by a network of extremely narrow and steep streets, impossible to circulate by vehicle. To ease these difficulties of circulation and exchange, the French civil engineer Eugène-Henri Gavan came up with the idea, in 1867, of building an underground funicular on a tilted plan. Work was completed in 1874 when the Tunnel began to serve the Galata and Pera neighborhoods. The energy for the Tunnel is produced by two steam machines that was initially tested using the strength of oxen. The Tunnel is the second oldest subterranean urban rail line in the world, after the London Underground, and the first subterranean urban rail line in continental Europe. Istanbul is a city of wonders, a magical place where natural beauty and magnificent monuments combine to amaze and entrance visitors. With its history as a major capital at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, spanning over 2,000 years, the historic areas of Istanbul were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.