Posted By Phineas Upham
The city of Istanbul is currently the largest city in Turkey, and it is the cultural and economic hub of the country. Its strategic placement along the Black Sea gave it an important position as a center for trade in the middle ages, and the country has only grown in popularity since then.
Undersea Tunnels
Istanbul may have been around 3500 years before we thought it had been inhabited. An excavation of the area revealed an undersea tunnel that originates from the Neolithic period. Though historians do not believe this bridge was necessary, it’s proof that people have been crossing into Asia for the past 5000 years.
Trading
Yoros Castle, located in the Bosphorus on the Black sea side, used to be a thriving Phoenician trade hub. Civilizations from all around the Middle East were skilled in maritime navigation, and so Istanbul was the largest of many trade routes plotted around the river. This also made Istanbul an important place for these sailors and traders to retire after a life of hard work.
Constantin the Great
Istanbul was such a grand city that when Constantin the Great finished the unification of Eastern and Western Rome, he moved the capital to Istanbul. He also changed the name of the city to Constantinopolis and turned it into the biggest city of its time. Constantin’s conversion to Catholocism led to construction of the Great Imperial Palace and the first Roman church in Istanbul.
Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Facebook page.