This substantial account of Constantinople – or Istanbul as it is known today – is both a history and a guide to that magnificent and fabled metropolis where east and west have met for many centuries. Written in 1915 when, as Stamboul, the city was the last stop on the Orient Express, it is illustrated with many rare period photographs. This book for the general reader evokes all the colour and richness of the ultimate oriental city, ancient capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, captured on the brink of modernization in the first years after the revolution. The author describes everyday life in the city, – the features of permanent interest such as mosques, gardens, fountains, the traces of Byzantium and the quays of the Golden Horn as well as the feasts, custom’s, festivals and holidays that once enlivened Constantinople but are now only a memory. The work concludes with an account of the revolution and of the effects of World War I on the city. This is a portrait of the Istanbul that all travellers hope to find – and still can, in the pages of this book.
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