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Impressions of Istanbul (part one)

From Camlica Hill, the highest point in greater Istanbul, we can see across the Bosphorus to the Golden Horn and beyond to the fortified walls built by the Romans 1,600 years ago.

From Camlica Hill, the highest point in greater Istanbul, we can see across the Bosphorus to the Golden Horn and beyond to the fortified walls built by the Romans 1,600 years ago. The Bosphorus, a narrow marine channel running north to south between the Marmara and Black Seas, separates Europe from Asia and it runs right through the middle of the city, making Istanbul the only city on earth that straddles the boundary between two continents.

The Golden Horn, a long inlet extending westward from the Bosphorus, divides the European side of the city into two parts. From the Golden Horn south to the Marmara Sea the "Old City" bristles with minarets and the domes of 14th century churches while north of the Golden Horn the "New City" is a mix of apartments and businesses with all the challenges of a rapidly growing modern city.

The three parts of the city are linked together by suspension bridges across both the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

Located on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, Camlica Hill is a popular green refuge where both tourists and locals come to escape the turmoil of the city. An open-air teahouse on the summit is surrounded by a maze of walkways, gardens and secluded arbors - an ideal place to get our bearings before embarking on our four-day ramble through the city. We ordered lunch (tea, kabobs and lokum) and settled down to take in the view. Below us the city of 12 million people sprawls in a vast panorama of space and time - a tapestry of ancient and modern neighbourhoods woven into a cityscape that now extends far beyond the old Roman Walls and half way up the Bosphorus toward the Black Sea.

Ahmet, our friendly and knowledgeable local guide joins our table. "Istanbul is one of the oldest cities earth," he tells us. As we talk about the city's many transformations, from tribal fishing village to modern megalopolis, he points out some of its historic landmarks.

From our lofty vantage point it's easy to see why this spot was destined to become one of the world's great cities. Strategically located at the southern entry to the Bosphorus, the site has controlled the gateway between Europe and Asia for almost 16 centuries. Archaeological records suggest that the first fishing communities were built here as early as 1000 BC. Historic records go back to 657 BC when Greek colonists founded the town of Byzantium where the "Old City" now stands. Romans displaced the original settlers in 330 AD, renamed the town Constantinople, and made it the capital of their vast Byzantine Empire. In 1453 the Turkish Sultan Mehmet II, conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul (city of Islam) and with the fall of Constantinople the Byzantine Empire collapsed and the Ottoman Empire surged into power. For the next 469 years, until Turkey became a Republic in 1922, Istanbul was part of the Ottoman Sultanate.

Except for the city walls and a few churches not much remains of the Byzantine Era. But the walls were built to last and they are still an impressive reminder of the glory days of the Byzantine Empire, when Constantinople was the cultural and economic capital of the Eurasian world. Built in AD413 the walls held out invaders, including Attila the Hun, for 757 years. Armies of the fourth crusade broke into the city in 1204 but their victory was short-lived and the rebuilt walls continued to protect Constantinople for another 200 years.

The end came in 1453 when the Ottoman sultan Mehmet II launched an all out attack. For months his cannons pounded the besieged city but the walls refused to crumble. That's when Urban, a Hungarian cannon maker, entered the picture. Being a good Christian, Urban offered his services (for a price) to the Byzantine defenders of Christendom. Unfortunately they were unable to pay so Urban sold his huge cannon to the Ottomans instead and took off with the cash. The huge new gun soon breached the walls and Ottoman forces streamed into the city - a victory that Mehmet the Conqueror shares with Urban, one of the world's first unscrupulous arms dealers.

We followed the old Roman land wall from the Golden Horn across to the Marmara Sea. At the mouth of the Bosphorus Ahmet swung the van inland and followed the much younger fortified walls surrounding Topkapi Palace to the Imperial Gate where we entered the opulent world of the Ottoman Sultans.

Mehmet II built Topkapi Palace soon after he conquered the city in 1453. Located on Seraglio Point, a promontory overlooking both the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea, the Palace was the residence and nerve centre of Istanbul's ruling Sultans for nearly 400 years. The original palace grew into a city-like complex of buildings and annexes and every addition was more luxuriant than the last. Walls and domed ceilings are covered with intricate mosaics made from tiny glazed tiles and semi-precious stones. Lacquered shutters and doors are inlayed with tortoise shell and mother of pearl and the Sultan's throne is embroidered with 15,000 pearls - a monstrous display of obscene wealth.

The first of four courtyards housed the Janissaries, the Sultan's personal servants who doubled as full-time soldiers. It was, and still is, open to the public but access to the second courtyard is tighter. Today it requires a ticket but in Ottoman time visitors had better have a personal invitation and unwavering loyalty to the Sultan. Ahmet pointed to a small fountain just outside the wall. "That's where the executioner cleaned up after a beheading," he told us. "The victim's head was hung on a pike pole, up there above the Middle Gate - just a warning that offending the Sultan could spoil your day."

During the Ottoman Era the second courtyard was the business centre of the Empire. It housed the council chambers, the treasury and the imperial stables as well as the palace kitchen and Harem. Contrary to legend the harem was not just an overstuffed lounging place where scantily clad women awaited the pleasure of the Sultan. In fact it was the Imperial family quarters - the private apartments of the Sultan, his family and servants. At any one time between 400 and 500 people lived and worked in the Harem. It was administered by the Chief Black Eunuch and had all the services of a small village.

Islamic law limited the Sultan to four wives but he was free to have as many concubines as he was able to support and, being a very wealthy guy, they often numbered several hundred. Not surprisingly the Sultan sometimes needed to get away from it all. That's when he retreated to the third courtyard, a private sanctuary staffed and guarded by a legion of white eunuchs - a place where a weary Sultan could sit and contemplate the affairs of state or just climb onto his pearl-embroidered throne for a private snooze.

After the stuffy opulence of the Sultan's private retreat it was a relief to step out into the sunshine and fresh air of the fourth courtyard. With its tulip gardens, lawns and shade trees it's where the Imperial family once came to relax and play. But what was once a refuge reserved for the ruling elite is now shared by everyone. We were immediately surrounded by a swarm of enthusiastic and curious kids on a school outing - "Where are you from?" "Is Canada far away?" "Do you enjoy your visit here?" - Their command of English surprised me but it shouldn't have. Istanbul may be very old but it is also one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and, with Turkey poised to become part of the European family of nations, these kids are part of a new generation that is destined to see their city transformed yet again.