Istanbul is the World's only Transcontinental City

Istanbul is not only the largest city in Turkey; it was originally known as Constantinople and, before that, as Byzantium. It is the most populous city in all of Europe with 15.4 million residents, and because of its strategic location between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, it has also earned a reputation as one of the most famous towns in history. It served as the capital of both the old Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

Istanbul is renowned for being divided between two continents (the only transcontinental city in the world), Europe and Asia, by a thin ribbon of water known as the Bosporus, in addition to its amazing architecture and more than 2,500-year-old history, which includes the Hagia Sophia, which was constructed as a church in the sixth century CE. East of the Bosporus, about one-third of Istanbul's population resides, with the remaining two-thirds living in Europe. In honor of the prehistoric Thracian tribes that once called the area home, the European section of Turkey is frequently referred to as East Thrace or Turkish Thrace, while the Asian portion is occasionally termed Anatolia. With numerous bridges, two underwater tunnels, and a ton of ferries, Istanbul is connected across the Bosporus. The Eurasia tunnel, the most recent extension, allowed car travel between the two continents in just 15 minutes as of December 20, 2016.