The Port of Istanbul (or the Port of Hairdar Pasha) is the largest seaport and city in Turkey. The old city is located on the peninsula between Europe an Asia, covering both continents. It was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Turkish Republic.

A Phoenician port settlement was found in nearby Chalcedon, the first place Greek settlers colonized in 685 BC. Thracian tribes established an ancient port called Lygos between the 13th and 11th Centuries BC. Today’s Topkapi Palace now stands on the site of Lygos, which was also the location of the Byzantion Acropolis. According to legend, Byzas was the leader of the Greeks who took the peninsula from the Thracian tribes and built the city of Byzantium in 657 BC.

Roman emperor Septimius Severus razed the town for opposing his forces in civil war, but he rebuilt it with the name August Antonina. Constantine the Great made the city the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 330 AD, calling it New Rome and later Constantinopolis.

The Fourth Crusade in the early 13th Century was aimed at Jerusalem, but the Crusaders sacked Constantinople instead. It then became the Catholic Church’s eastern center, but it fell into an economic and cultural decline. In the 13th Century, Arabs used the name they heard Byzantines use for the city, calling it Istinpolin, and over the centuries, that name evolved to Istanbul. In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II captured the city following a 53-day siege, and he proclaimed it the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan created the Grand Bazaar and invited fleeing Catholics to return. He freed prisoners and ordered four thousand families from Rumelia and Anatolia to settle the city. He intentionally imported different cultures to create a cosmopolitan society.

The Sultan also constructed many architectural monuments (like the Topkapi Palace and Eyup Sultan Mosque), schools, public baths, and hospitals in the Port of Istanbul. From 1520 to 1566, Suleiman the Magnificent reigned the Ottoman Empire, inspiring an era of great architectural and artistic achievement. Many new mosques and buildings sprang up, and the arts of calligraphy and ceramics flourished.

In 1923, the Republic of Turkey was established, its capital was moved to Ankara, and the Port of Istanbul took a back seat to the new capital. In the 1950s, many infrastructure improvements were made, even at the expense of historic buildings. The Port of Istanbul’s population increased dramatically in the 1970s as people came in search of work in the many factories being constructed on the city’s outskirts. Population growth forced a housing boom, and outlying villages were swallowed by the greater metropolitan area.

Today, the Port of Istanbul is the world’s 4th largest city and the 20th largest urban area. It is Turkey’s financial and cultural center, covering 27 districts in the Istanbul province. Located on the Bosphorus Strait that links the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea, its natural harbor is called the Golden Horn. The only urban area with territory on two continents, the historic city was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 and was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2010. Interestingly, the official name of the city was Constantinople until 1930 when the Turkish Post Office made the change to Istanbul.

The Port of Istanbul is the region’s largest container port, with annual cargo over six million metric tons. Containing two large piers with 21 berths, its berths specialize handling dry bulk and general cargo, general cargo, roll-on/roll-of cargo, and containerized cargo and servicing motor boats. Water depth at the quays ranges from 5 to 10 meters.

The Port of Istanbul’s container terminals can handle 1200 vessels a year and 144 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. The terminal offers storage space of 10 hectares or 6 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. In addition to open storage of 31 hectares of open storage and 2 hectares of covered storage, additional area outside the port covers 5.5 hectares with stacking capacity for 52.8 thousand TEUs.

The new roll-on/roll-of terminal at the Port of Istanbul can handle 360 vessels a year and 410 thousand tons of cargo. Daily services link the facility to Trieste, Italy, and Constanta, Romania. The Port of Istanbul can service 1134 general cargo vessels a year, and dry bulk berths can accommodate 79 vessels a year. The Port of Istanbul also contains a grain silo with capacity for 34 thousand tons. The rail ferry terminal operates between Sirkeci and Haydarpasa and can move 480 tons or 14 rail carriages between the two sides of the Bosphorus.

Covering two continents, the Port of Istanbul offers too many sights and adventures to include in a single webpage, but there are highlights visitors should not miss. The European side of the Port of Istanbul boasts the 6th Century Hagia Sophia built for Emperor Justinian and the largest enclosed space in the world for over one thousand years. Today, it is a fascinating museum. Topkapi Palace was home to Ottoman emperors for 300 years, and it houses a weaponry display, Islamic and Christian relics, rugs, and fine china.

Properly attired visitors can see the operating Sultanahmet Mosque with its breathtaking architecture and minarets. The Basilica Cistern built by Justinian in 532 AD is a giant underground chamber with a wooden walkway that takes visitors through this ancient eerie setting that was the water supply for the city during sieges.

The Hippodrome was the center of the ancient Roman and Byzantine city, and while the building no longer exists, its obelisks and sculptures have been here since the 4th Century. On Sunday afternoons, visitors can witness the sema dervish ceremonies in the Museum of Divan Literature that was once the Galata Whirling Dervish Hall.

Other important sights on the European side include the Ortakay shoreline neighborhood, the Museum of Archeology, the Museum of Modern Art, Dolmabache Palace, Galata Tower, and Chora Church.

The Asian, or Anatolian, side of the Port of Istanbul also contains many worthwhile sites for travelers. The Beylerbeyi Palace, built by Sultan Abdulaziz in the mid-1800s, lies under the Bosphorus Bridge. Camlica Hill, which is one of the Port of Istanbul’s highest hills, offers a public park and cafes and wonderful views of the city. The eight Princes’ Islands to the southeast are wonderful refuges from the crowded city. They offer villas, picnic and scenic areas, bicycle and horse carriage trails, and ruins of a monastery on Buyukada Island. Visitors can dine or take tea inside the Maiden’s Tower before or after taking the tower tour.

No visit to the Port of Istanbul is complete without a trip to one of the city’s baths. The Syleymaniye Bath was built by Sultan Suleyman in 1550 for his own use. It is the only mixed bath in the Port of Istanbul, and the sexes are mixed, making it the ideal bath for families. The Caguloglu Bath was built in 1741. The last Ottoman bath to be built, it has separated sections and is the bath most frequently visited by tourists. The Cemberlitas Bath was built in 1584. Located in the middle of the Port of Istanbul’s finest monuments, it has separated sections for males and females and offers Turkish and oil massage.