"The edge of Europe..." a Istanbul Travel Page by Yiannis2000

Istanbul is a European city, not only because it's located at the edge of Europe, but also because Peran and Bosporus are still echoing the city's cosmopolitan past...
Istanbul is European even if it elected a Major from the Islamic party, the same man that won the recent elections.
The 20th century contributed in European History with the idea of ethnic cleansing... starting from Ottoman Anatolia and ending with ex-Yugoslavia... Before that Greeks and Jews, Armenians and Slavs, interacted with the ruling Ottoman Turks in a vibrant way just here, at Bosporus...
Turkey is European, too. It is not a matter of Geography, but also of politics. She has to pass several tests still, when it comes to the state's dealing with human rights, the role of the Armed Forces in politics and also the relationship between secular state and religion..
Turkey's relationship to "our" Europe is a cultural matter as well. The European Union is still a bureaucratic organisation of the wealthy Europe, but it has to expand and engulf, support, promote the desires of all European peoples from Eastern and South East Europe.... Turkey gives Europe a nice chance to remember again that cultural borders are not an obstacle, they are mainly a creative force.
I am happy and feel honoured that I live so near to this imaginary "border" , I cross it as often as I can...

Above, just a photo from the most reknown Greek monument in Istanbul, the church of Aghia Sophia.

Check the official tourist guide for Istanbul:
http://english.istanbul.com/?Vst=2

One of the last Greeks guarding the Orthodox Patriarchs' Graves...
I can't describe the magic of this city...

As a Greek, I am familiar with Istanbul's byzantine past, but today's city has so much more to offer!
More soon!