🇹🇷 Turkey
Istanbul
Istanbul is the only city in the world that straddles two continents — the Bosphorus Strait separating Europe from Asia bisects the city, making it simultaneously the largest city in Europe (by population, 15 million) and an Asian metropolis. For 1,500 years as Constantinople it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and then the Ottoman Empire — and the civilizational weight of that history is visible on every hill: the Hagia Sophia (the greatest building of the ancient world, a mosque since 2020), the Blue Mosque (its six minarets visible from across the Golden Horn), Topkapi Palace (home of the Sultans for 400 years), and the Grand Bazaar (the world's oldest covered market, 4,000 shops). Istanbul today is also one of the most dynamic cities in the world — the food scene, the art galleries of Karaköy, the nightlife of Beyoğlu and the Bosphorus restaurant strip make it a destination that rewards multiple visits.