Constantinople

Worlds collide in Constantinople-Istanbul

Five hundred and seventy years after the Fall of Constantinople, Recep Tayyip Erdogan chose the Hagia Sophia to celebrate the anniversary and his own victory in Sunday's elections. "Allah willing, we see this election as the gateway to the next century of Turkey and it will go down in history as such a turning point," as that of the Conquest, he declared on Sunday.

Erdogan exploits Hagia Sophia’s symbolic power

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strategically utilized the symbolic significance of Hagia Sophia, once the world's largest Byzantine cathedral, which he reconverted into a mosque in 2020, in order to mobilize his devout and nationalist supporters ahead of Sunday's runoff vote. "The entire West got mad - but I did it," he said during a rally in Istanbul on Saturday.

Istanbul tourism awaits UEFA final

The tourism sector in Istanbul is preparing for the UEFA Champions League Final to be played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on June 10, with expections that about 50,000 fans will arrive in the city.

Hoteliers who reported mediocre earnings during April and May, the peak months for Istanbul tourism, due to the deadly Feb. 6 quakes, are locked on the UEFA Champions League Final.

Satellite cities to be established in Istanbul to relocate risky buildings

Within the scope of preparation for the major earthquake expected in the Marmara region, 500,000 of the 1.5 million risky residences in Istanbul will be rebuilt on-site, and satellite cities of 500,000 residences will be established on both sides of the megacity to relocate the rest, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum has announced.

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