WHY ISTANBUL
Culture of Istanbul
The culture of Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul Kültürü) has its basis in the city that has been the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. However, when the Turkish Republic turned its focus away from Istanbul and toward Ankara, the city's cultural scene throughout the mid-20th century lay relatively stagnant, seeing limited success on the international, and even national, level. The government of the new republic established programs that served to engender Turks toward musical traditions originating in Europe, but musical institutions and visits by foreign classical artists were primarily centered in the new capital. Although much of Turkey's culture had its roots in Istanbul, it was not until the 1980s and 1990s that Istanbul reemerged globally as a city whose cultural significance is not solely based on its past glory.
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Where to go in Istanbul
Galata Tower
The Galata Tower (Turkish: Galata Kulesi), officially the Galata Tower Museum (Turkish: Galata Kulesi Müzesi), is an old Genoese tower in the Galata part of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. Built as a watchtower at the highest point of the (lost) Walls of Galata, the tower is now an exhibition space and museum, and a symbol of Beyoğlu and Istanbul.
Maiden's Tower
The Maiden's Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi), also known as Leander's Tower (Tower of Leandros) since the Byzantine period, is a tower on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, 200 m (220 yd) from the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. The tower appeared on the reverse of the Turkish 10 lira banknote from 1966 to 1981.
Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern, or Cisterna Basilica (Greek: Βασιλική Κινστέρνα, Turkish: Yerebatan Sarnıcı or Yerebatan Saray, "Subterranean Cistern" or "Subterranean Palace"), is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey.
