Istanbul is Turkey's largest city and its economic, cultural, and historical center, home to over 15 million people. Straddling the Bosphorus Strait, it uniquely spans two continents (Europe and Asia). Its location between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea makes it a strategically important city. The city's large area of 5,461 square kilometers is coterminous with Istanbul Province and experiences a Mediterranean climate.
In 1903, Beşiktaş J.K. was established and is considered the oldest sports club in Turkey.
On July 23, 1908, the Ottoman Parliament, which had been closed since February 14, 1878, was reopened, marking the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era.
In 1908, Istanbul was declared a province with nine constituent districts, with laws enacted after the Ottoman constitution of 1876 aiming to expand this structure across the city.
Istanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal opened in 1908, serving as the western terminus of the Baghdad Railway and an extension of the Hejaz Railway.
In 1909, Sultan Abdul Hamid II was deposed following a counter-revolution attempt known as the 31 March incident.
In 1909, the first manual telephone exchange became operational in Istanbul.
In 1913, Istanbul's Armenian population peaked at 164,000.
In 1913, the Ottoman coup d'état, brought the regime of the Three Pashas to power.
Between 1914 and 1927, the city's Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000 due to Ottoman and Turkish policies of Turkification and ethnic cleansing during WWI.
In 1914, the Silahtarağa Power Station, a coal-fired power station, completed its first engine room and became Istanbul's sole source of electricity.
On April 24, 1915, the deportation of Armenian intellectuals marked the start of the Armenian genocide during World War I.
On November 13, 1918, a French brigade entered Constantinople, beginning the Occupation of Constantinople by Allied forces.
As a result of policies, the Greek population of Istanbul decreased from 110,000 in 1919 to 2,500 today.
On April 11, 1920, the Ottoman Parliament was dissolved by the Allies.
On August 10, 1920, representatives of the Turkish government signed the Treaty of Sèvres.
The Taksim Military Barracks was transformed into the Taksim Stadium in 1921.
On November 1, 1922, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara abolished the Sultanate. On November 17, 1922, the last Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed VI, left aboard the British warship HMS Malaya, going into exile.
In 1922, Topkapı Palace became public property following the abolition of monarchy.
On July 24, 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed.
On 29 October 1923 the Grand National Assembly of Turkey declared the establishment of the Turkish Republic, with Ankara as its capital.
On October 4, 1923, the occupation of Constantinople ended with the departure of the last forces of the Allies from the city. On 6 October 1923, Turkish forces entered the city.
Despite its development as a Turkish city since 1923, it contains many, Greek, Jewish, Roman, Islam, Christian, Judaism, and Muslim buildings.
Following the founding of the Turkish Republic, the Silahtarağa power plant underwent renovations in 1923 to accommodate the city's increasing electricity demand, increasing its capacity to 23 megawatts.
In 1923, Istanbul was overlooked as the new capital of the Republic of Turkey.
In 1923, Istanbul's Greek population was exempted from the population exchange with Greece.
In 1924, after extensive renovation, Topkapı Palace became one of Turkey's first national museums.
On May 16, 1926, the last Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed VI, died in Sanremo, Italy.
Between 1914 and 1927, the city's Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000 due to Ottoman and Turkish policies of Turkification and ethnic cleansing during WWI.
In 1927, Turkey's first radio transmission came from atop the Central Post Office in Eminönü.
In 1930, the system of local government continued with the establishment of Istanbul Municipality.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality was established in 1930.
The Hagia Sophia was reopened as a museum in 1935 due to its historical significance.
The Taksim Stadium was demolished in 1940 for building Gezi Park.
In 1942, a wealth tax assessed mainly on non-Muslims led to the transfer or liquidation of many businesses owned by religious minorities.
In 1950, the Jewish population in Istanbul was around 100,000.
Starting in 1950, Istanbul experienced rapid population growth, which increased tenfold between 1950 and 2000 due to internal and international migration.
In 1952, the Istanbul Sailing Club was established.
Until 1952, the Silahtarağa Power Station was the sole source of Istanbul's electricity.
In 1955, an anti-Greek pogrom prompted thousands of Greeks to leave Istanbul.
In 1955, the US-incited and state-sanctioned Istanbul pogrom led to the emigration of most of the remaining Greeks in Istanbul.
By 1956, the Silahtarağa power plant reached its peak electricity generation capacity of 120 megawatts.
In 1961, Hürriyet's English-language edition, Hürriyet Daily News, has been printed.
In 1963, the foreign film 'From Russia with Love' was filmed in Istanbul.
Further mass expulsions of Greeks took place in 1964–1965.
In 1964, the foreign film 'Topkapi' was filmed in Istanbul.
In 1964, the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) was founded.
Further mass expulsions of Greeks took place in 1964–1965.
The state-run Turkish Electrical Authority (TEK) was founded in 1970.
In 1973, the Istanbul Festival was established, showcasing art from Turkey and around the world.
In 1973, the Istanbul International Music Festival was first held.
Before the 1982 amendment to the constitution private universities were not allowed in Turkey.
In 1983, the Silahtarağa Power Station reached the end of its economic life and shut down.
In 1984, the Turkish Electrical Authority (TEK) was split between the Turkish Electricity Generation Transmission Company (TEAŞ) and the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAŞ).
In 1987, Galleria Ataköy opened, marking the beginning of modern shopping malls in Turkey.
Since 1987, the Istanbul Biennial is a contemporary art exhibition held biennially.
In 1990, the TRT monopoly on radio and television broadcasts ended.
In 1992, Koç University, Istanbul's first private university, was founded.
In 1994, Erdoğan's election as the mayor of Istanbul served as a launchpad for his subsequent political career.
In 1994, GSM cellular networks arrived in Turkey, with Istanbul among the first cities to receive the service.
In 1995, Borsa Istanbul moved its headquarters to İstinye, near Maslak, where numerous Turkish banks are located.
Türk Telekom split from the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone in 1995.
In 1999, the American news channel CNN established the Turkish-language CNN Türk in Istanbul.
In 1999, the foreign film 'The World Is Not Enough' was filmed in Istanbul.
In August 2000, Istanbul hosted a race of the F1 Powerboat World Championship on the Bosporus strait.
By 2000, Istanbul's population had increased tenfold since 1950, fueled by internal and international migration.
In 2000, Istanbul had 137 hospitals, of which 100 were private.
In 2001, the Abdi İpekçi Arena hosted the finals of EuroBasket.
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport opened in 2001, located 45 kilometers southeast of the city center.
In 2002, the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Turkey's largest multi-purpose stadium, was completed.
In 2002, the Turkish film 'Uzak', filmed in Istanbul, achieved substantial international success.
In 2003, the annual Istanbul Pride became the first gay pride event in a Muslim-majority country.
In 2003, the first Rock'n Coke festival was organized in Istanbul, sponsored by Coca-Cola.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality was restructured with the Metropolitan Municipalities Law in 2004.
Between 2005 and 2009, the percentage of outpatients using private hospitals increased from 6 percent to 23 percent.
Between the 2005–2011 seasons, Istanbul Park racing circuit hosted the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix.
In 2005, Türk Telekom, which split from the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone in 1995, was privatized.
In 2005, the Atatürk Olympic Stadium hosted the UEFA Champions League Final.
In 2005, the Turkish film 'My Father and My Son', filmed in Istanbul, achieved substantial international success.
Since 2005, an annual tulip festival has been held in Emirgan Park.
A modern funicular between Taksim Square and Kabataş began running in 2006.
Between 2007 and 2008, medical tourism to Turkey had a 40 percent increase.
In 2007, Istanbul hosted the Turkish Motorcycle Grand Prix for the last time.
In 2007, Istanbul's foreign population with a residence permit was 43,000.
Between 2007 and 2008, medical tourism to Turkey had a 40 percent increase.
In 2008, the foreign film 'Mission Istaanbul' was filmed in Istanbul.
In June 2009, the last race of the Powerboat P1 World Championship on the Bosporus took place.
Between 2005 and 2009, the percentage of outpatients using private hospitals increased from 6 percent to 23 percent.
In 2009, a new international terminal opened at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.
The contactless Istanbulkart was introduced in 2009 for integrated fares across Istanbul's public transportation modes.
In 2010, the Sinan Erdem Dome hosted the final of the FIBA World Championship.
Between 2011 and 2012, Atatürk had a 20.6 percent rise in passenger traffic.
In 2011, Türk Telekom Arena opened to replace Ali Sami Yen Stadium as Galatasaray's home turf.
In 2011, the Sinan Erdem Dome hosted the EuroLeague Final Four.
In 2011, the first and second bridges on the Bosphorus carried 400,000 vehicles each day.
In 2011, the then Prime Minister Erdoğan presented Canal Istanbul, a project to open a new strait between the Black and Marmara seas, as a solution to the busy Bosporus strait.
In 2012, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport handled 14.7 million passengers.
In 2012, the Sinan Erdem Dome hosted the IAAF World Indoor Championships.
In 2012, the construction of Marmaray and the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway forced the Haydarpaşa Terminal to close.
Since 2012, over 500,000 vulnerable buildings in Istanbul have been demolished and replaced due to the threat of major earthquakes.
In 2013, large-scale anti-AKP government protests began in Istanbul and spread throughout the nation, indicating a shift away from the government's right-wing ideology.
In 2013, the Gezi Park protests took place at Taksim Square and İstiklal Avenue.
In 2013, the Marmaray Tunnel was inaugurated as the first rail connection between Thrace and Anatolia.
In 2014, the English-language Daily Sabah, was first published by Sabah.
In the 2014 mayoral election, the center-left opposition candidate won an impressive 40% of the vote, signaling a change in political sentiment away from the ruling government.
In 2015, Istanbul Atatürk Airport handled 61.3 million passengers.
On August 26, 2016, the Yavuz Sultan Selim (Third Bosphorus) Bridge entered service.
On December 20, 2016, the dual-deck Eurasia Tunnel under the Bosphorus strait opened, providing road crossings for motor vehicles between the Asian and European sides of Turkey.
In 2016, Beşiktaş Stadium opened to replace BJK İnönü Stadium.
In 2016, the Sinan Erdem Dome hosted the EuroLeague Final Four.
In the 2017 constitutional referendum, Istanbul voted 'No' by 51.4% to 48.6%, marking the first government defeat in the city. The AKP government supported a 'Yes' vote, which won nationally due to high support in rural areas.
In 2018, 13.4 million foreign tourists visited Istanbul, making it the world's fifth most-visited city in that year.
In 2018, Istanbul had the eleventh-largest economy among the world's urban areas and contributed significantly to Turkey's GDP and tax revenues. The city's gross domestic product adjusted by PPP stood at US$537.507 billion.
In 2018, shipping was a significant part of Istanbul's economy, with 73.9 percent of exports and 92.7 percent of imports executed by sea.
Istanbul Airport opened in 2018 in the Arnavutköy district to the northwest of the city center.
On March 12, 2019, the full Marmaray intercontinental commuter rail line, officially named B1, opened, running from Halkalı to Gebze.
On April 6, 2019, all scheduled commercial passenger flights were transferred from Atatürk Airport to Istanbul Airport, following the closure of Istanbul Atatürk Airport for scheduled passenger flights.
A 2019 survey found that only 36% of Istanbul's population was born in the province.
A 2019 survey study by KONDA examined the religiosity of the voting-age adults in Istanbul, showing that 57% had a religion and were trying to practice its requirements.
According to a 2019 KONDA study, Kurds constituted around 17% of Istanbul's adult total population who were Turkish citizens.
After its closure to commercial flights in 2019, Istanbul Atatürk Airport was briefly used by cargo aircraft and the official state aircraft owned by the Turkish government.
As of 2019, Istanbul has 61 colleges and universities, with more than 1.8 million students enrolled.
As of 2019, Istanbul's mean air quality remained at a level that affected the heart and lungs of healthy bystanders, with almost 200 days of pollution measured at various locations.
As of 2019, excluding universities, more than 3.1 million students attended 7,437 schools in Istanbul.
At the end of 2019, the Turkish Statistical Institute estimated that the population of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality was 15,519,267, which is 19 percent of the country's population.
By 2019, Istanbul's foreign population with a residence permit had increased dramatically to 856,377, a significant rise from 43,000 in 2007.
Following Greek migration to the city for work in the 2010s, the Greek population rose to nearly 3,000 in 2019, a great diminish compared to 1919.
Following the 2019 election, a trend towards the CHP has persisted across the city.
In 2019, Ambarlı had an annual capacity of 3,104,882 TEUs, making it the third-largest cargo terminal in the Mediterranean basin.
In 2019, companies based in Istanbul produced exports worth $83.66 billion and received imports totaling $128.34 billion, accounting for 47 percent and 61 percent of the national totals, respectively.
In 2019, leading up to the local elections, Erdoğan stated that 'if we fail in Istanbul, we will fail in Turkey', highlighting the city's political importance. The election was also significant because Erdoğan's party, AKP, lost control of the $4.8 billion municipal budget.
In the 2019 local elections, the AKP candidate for Mayor, Binali Yıldırım, was defeated by Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu's initial narrow victory was controversially annulled, but he won the re-run with a wider margin.
Regular rail service between Bucharest and Istanbul's Sirkeci Terminal, which had been interrupted for Marmaray construction, started running again in 2019.
The Turkish government has plans for an expansion of the city in conjunction with the new Istanbul Airport, opened in 2019.
In July 2020, the Hagia Sophia was re-converted into a mosque.
According to 2020 TÜİK data, around 2.1 million people in a population of over 15.4 million have been registered in Istanbul.
In 2020, Istanbul Park racing circuit hosted the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix.
In 2020, Istanbul's bid for the Summer Olympics ended unsuccessfully.
In 2020, the Canal Istanbul project was still on Turkey's agenda, although no clear date had been set for its implementation.
In 2020, the UEFA Champions League Final, originally slated for Istanbul, was relocated to Lisbon due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The demolition of Istanbul Atatürk Airport's runway began in 2020.
In June 2021, a marine mucilage wave allegedly caused by water pollution spread to the Sea of Marmara.
On June 25, 2021, it was announced that the 2021 F1 Turkish Grand Prix will take place on October 3, 2021.
By 2021, the Jewish population in Istanbul had dropped to 15,000, largely due to emigration to Israel.
In 2021, the UEFA Champions League Final, originally slated for Istanbul, was relocated to Porto due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Road transport emitted an estimated 7 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2021.
In 2022, sea-effect snowstorms with more than 30 centimetres (1 ft) of snowfall occurred in Istanbul, disrupting city infrastructure.
As of August 2023, there were more than 530,000 refugees of the Syrian civil war in Istanbul, the highest number in any Turkish city.
According to ministry statements and geologist comments made in 2023, Istanbul's infrastructure was in reasonably good shape, however, buildings were not.
In the 2023 presidential election, the CHP candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, received 48.56% of the city's vote, while the incumbent president and AKP candidate, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, received 46.68%.
Since 2023, the Ataşehir district has been home to the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), including the new headquarters of the Turkish Central Bank.
As of 2024, most buildings in Istanbul were built to a low seismic standard in the 20th century, and residents think the city is not properly prepared for the earthquake.
As of 2024, the total length of Istanbul Province's network of toll roads is 543 km and the state highways network is 353 km.
In 2024, Euromonitor International ranked Istanbul as the second most visited city in the world.
In the 2024 local elections, Ekrem İmamoğlu was re-elected as mayor by a 12-point margin. The CHP also won the mayoralties in 26 of Istanbul's 39 districts.
On April 23, 2025, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas, causing injuries and panic.
Once all phases are completed in 2025, the Istanbul Airport will have six sets of runways (eight in total), 16 taxiways, and will be able to accommodate 200 million passengers a year.
The city will host the 2027 edition of the European Games.
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