Construction of the Fatih bridge across the Bosphorus, 1987. Photo by Ergun Çagatay

Through its long history, the city of Istanbul has been recreated many times. For over a thousand years, the city served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Like the Old Rome that it was intended to replace, Constantine's city extended over seven hills; within its walls were laid out fora and streets, palaces and churches, aqueducts and archways.

Following its capture by the Ottomans, the city retained its imperial role. The administrative center of an empire that extended across three continents, Istanbul became the arbiter of taste and focal point for learning and scholarship throughout the Islamic world. The city's great mosques with their graceful minarets for the call to prayer were the most visible symbol of this new Istanbul.

During the nineteenth century, the city began to feel the effect of western influences, socially as well as physically. New styles of architecture and the appearance of trams and steamers paralleled more conscious efforts to create a modern European-style city. By the 1930s, parts of the city had a cosmopolitan appearance and a lifestyle reminiscent of Paris and Vienna.

By far the most explosive phase of Istanbul's growth has occurred within the past forty years. As a result of rapid urbanization, the city's boundaries now extend northwards along the Bosphorus and along the European and Asian shores of the Sea of Marmara. Villages that in the 1950s retained a distinctive sense of identity now remain only as the names on a map, submerged beneath a tidal wave of new immigrants.