İstanbul

Introduction

İstanbul ĭsˌtănbo͞olˈ, ĭstanˈbo͞ol [key], city and metropolitan muncipality, capital of İstanbul prov., NW Turkey, on both sides of the Bosporus at its entrance into the Sea of Marmara. Since 2004 the metropolitan municipality and province have been coterminous. Its name was officially changed from Constantinople to İstanbul in 1930; before a.d. 330 it was known as Byzantium. (For the history of the city, see Byzantium and Constantinople.)

Sections in this article:

Introduction
Points of Interest
The Modern City

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Turkey Political Geography