Just as the Byzantines cultivated the Christian character of Constantinople, so did the Ottomans work to make the city a distinctly Muslim center. But while the flow of immigrants soon created a Muslim majority, until the twentieth century Christians and Jews made up some 40-45% of the population. Members of the various religious communities interacted daily in the streets and markets. A generally tolerant atmosphere permitted non-Muslims to practice their respective faiths, although under certain inequalities in the form of special taxes as well as restrictions on dress and access to high positions. The sultan welcomed into his domains the Jews forced out of Spain in 1492, and vibrant Sephardi communities soon established themselves in Istanbul and other Ottoman cities.