Google and Real Turkey

Özel Arama
I am a citizen of Istanbul and you can find my recommendations regarding what you should do during your stay at Istanbul.

You know, most of the tourists just visit the most popular places and return to their countries without experiencing the real city life.

The objective of my blog is to help you to see the real city life in Istanbul.

Friday, December 08, 2006

The City of 4 Elements, Istanbul




Throughout history, Istanbul has been home to countless societies and cultures. Yet this “beautiful harmony”, which is embedded in the city’s foundations and entwined in the branches of its family tree, is not just a pleasant memento from a bygone era. Istanbul retains still its rich cosmopolitan character, sometimes concealing and sometimes revealing the evidence of its unrivalled physical and cultural legacy.



The city is a living example of the much sought-after meeting of civilisations - something so desperately missing in the modern world that the search for it seems almost utopian. For more than two thousand years, as if inspired by Aristotle’s theory of the four elements, the city has captivated humankind’s attention.Once it was gold that people saw as the perfect blend of the four elements. Istanbul, which once ruled lands on three continents, throughout the ages has served as a magnet for migrants for whom its streets are paved with that proverbial gold. After all the traumas it has experienced since its foundation, symbolically guided by the four elements, Istanbul is now promising to revitalise the formula imprinted in its genes. In cultural and in artistic terms it will be be worth its weight in gold to the world as a European Capital of Culture.


Resource: http://www.istanbul2010.org

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