A celebration of an extraordinary city, steeped in history, drawn from well-known imperial histories to lesser-known texts. Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul: these are only three names that have been given to the city that straddles two continents, was the capital of two multinational empires and is today a vibrant commercial and artistic city, the largest in Turkey and, after Moscow, the largest in Europe. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago, it played second fiddle to the new capital, Ankara, but in the last twenty years it has enjoyed a renaissance as an exciting international city appropriately European City of Culture in 2010. With its location as a port, Istanbul has always absorbed ideas, people and styles from north, south, east and west.
