- Istanbul is the only transcontinental city in the world located on two continents, Europe and Asia. With a population of 13.9 million, Istanbul is one of the largest urban agglomerations in Europe and is the 2nd largest city in the world by population within city limits.
- Istanbul is home to the most mosque in Turkey. It has 3,113 mosques, including the historical Sultanahmet Mosque and the Süleymaniye Mosque.
- In its thousands of years of history, it has been the capital of three great empires – Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. However, the modern-day capital of Turkey is Ankara.
- Istanbul is the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world. According to a study by MasterCard Worldwide Index in the world tourist destination, Istanbul will surpass New York and Amsterdam in terms of a number of visitors in 2011. 9.5 million people visited in 2012 and the Istanbul Cultural and Tourism Directorate recorded 10,474,867 visitors in 2013.
- Sultanahmet or the Old City is where most of the famous historical sights of Istanbul are located.