Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, formerly Byzantium, is arguably one of the most historically important cities in the world. As such, it is a city with some serious history, to say the least. Over the course of the last 2 millennia, Istanbul served as the capital city for the Byzantine, Latin, Roman, and Ottoman Empires. Indeed, the city has always been of extreme strategic importance for the politics of the region. It has been a major hub of the ancient Silk Road, Eurasian rail networks, and sea trade between the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

It should come as no surprise then that Istanbul is also one of the largest cities in the world. Istanbul’s metro area houses about 14 million people, making it one of the world’s most populous cities. Istanbul proper ranks 5th in the world and 1st in Europe, although the jury is still out on weather or not Istanbul really is part of Europe at all.

Istanbul is a gateway city. Straddling the banks of the Bosporus, Istanbul is part of both Europe AND Asia. This interesting piece of real estate has left Turkey in perpetual limbo. Despite its strong Islamic culture, Turkey has made numerous attempts to join the European Union, and has been denied every time. Indeed, a lot changes from one side of Turkey to the other. To west they border Bulgaria and Greece. To the east they border Syria, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Armenia… and ISIS. The life of a buffer country is not easy, but it certainly makes for an interesting destination.

By this time in my travels, I was absolutely exhausted, and severely jet-lagged. This made things hard, but I gritted my teeth and did my best to check off what I could from the list of Istanbul tourist attractions.