E
ast and West, Europe and Asia, secular and religious.
Today the startling juxtapositions in Istanbul are as
numerous as the clichés. Beyond the well-worn
geographical, historical, and cultural associations,
however, Turkey’s hugely diverting main metropolis
is Turkish to the core, while its welcoming denizens inhabit a city
where must-see attractions outnumber the minarets.
Foreigners and guidebooks frequently focus on Istanbul’s
unique continent-straddling position. But according to the city’s
favorite literary son and Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk,
Istanbul’s main fascination lies in the division between the
historic and progressive. This is a city where you can wake at
dawn to a muezzin’s call to prayer and dance the night away to
the bass beats of the latest house music.
Nearly 15 million Turks now throng Istanbul’s confined
streets and waterways, its boats, trams, and battered yellow cabs,
streaming out of modern skyscrapers and gathering beneath
breathtaking examples of ancient architecture. A mix of Christian
and Muslim, conservative and contemporary, they come together
in spaces where the cutting-edge and high-tech meet the timeless
and traditional.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES(VOLANTHEVIST) / TOP PHOTO GROUP
