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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Istanbul
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1992-09-02
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City and chief seaport of Turkey; population
(1985) 5,495,000. It produces textiles,
tobacco, cement, glass, and leather. Founded
as Byzantium about 660 BC, it was renamed
Constantinople AD 330 and was the capital of
the Byzantine Empire until captured by the
Turks 1453. As Istamboul it was capital of
the Ottoman Empire until 1922. Its features
include the harbour of the Golden Horn; Hagia
Sophia (Emperor Justinian's church of the
Holy Wisdom, 537, now a mosque); Sultan Ahmet
Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, from its
tiles; Topkapi Palace of the Sultans (with a
harem of 400 rooms), now a museum. The
Selimye Barracks in the suburb of Uskudar
(Scutari) was used as a hospital in the
Crimean War; the rooms used by Florence
Nightingale, with her personal possessions,
are preserved as a museum.