Turkey has a population of 85 million people.
Officially 15 million live in Istanbul
Unofficially around 20 million.
Estimated 4 million are refugees
This is the population of Berlin the capital and largest city of Germany
Did you know?
Turkey is home to the world’s largest refugee population.
I met these 3 boys having a campfire
next to Galata Bridge, right in the Center of the city.
Can you imagine that?
Here you will meet daily plenty locals fishing fresh fish.
Let me welcome you to Istanbul
the only city in the world that straddles two continents and date back 3000 years!
I am Marcin and I filmed two months in Istanbul.
My goal is to provide you an authentic insight into an eclectic mix of cultures,
traditions,
flavors and colors that greets you by visiting Istanbul.
Let the journey begin.
Arriving here my first attention got all the homeless dogs and cats
Luckily they have plenty of food provided and everywhere in the city you will recognize little huts prepared
the New York Times estimates that there are more than 130.000 dogs and 125.000 cats roaming
free.
Mostly they are medical checked and marked
Istanbul is a giant metropolis which extends into both Europe and Asia.
Separated by the Bosphorus, the city is connected via three suspension bridges and one tunne
lwhich provides a little relief for the ongoing traffic problem.
Since 1973 the Bosphorus bridge, with a length of 1560m and a height of 64m is the most important
crossover within the city.
For the first three years pedestrians could walk over the bridge.
Nowadays only cars are allowed.
Around 200.000 vehicles pass daily on both directions.
This is also the bridge which was on 15 July 2016 blocked by a faction of Turkish armed
forces during a coup attempt against state institutions, including the government and
the current controversial President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The coup attempt failed
249 people lost their lives
more than 2000 were injured
To have a better understanding for the current situation of people in Turkey and Istanbul
let me give you a short insight into economy, politics, religion and history
As it has a strong influence and you can feel it
everywhere being in this country.
Today the cities economy is responsible for 27% turkeys GDP.
Arriving here you will get more then 8 TL in exchange for 1 US Dollar.
Just 3 years ago you would get the half of it only 4 TL.
The currency is loosing in value dramatically.
Good for tourists - but a catastrophe for locals.
An average salary is around 400-500 US Dollar
Minimum salary is only 335 USD!
Grandmothers, Fathers, Teeneger, are in need to sell water bottles in traffic jam
a whole day long
just think about it
According to a ranking that measures the cost of living, rent, groceries, eating out and
purchasing power, Turkey is the 116th cheapest of 138 countries worldwide.
Bermuda, Switzerland and Norway are the most expensive.
75% of its resources like gas and oil Turkey needs to import.
oil prices are always quoted in US dollars
worldwide.
The political situation get tensed constantly and it is deeply integrated with people’s lifes
You probably have heard about the ongoing competing claims with Greece to energy reserves
in contested Eastern Mediterranean waters
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is serving as the current president since 2014.
From humble beginnings Erdogan has grown into a political giant
trying to reshaping Turkey constantly
In his first years Turkeys economy was booming.
The unemployment rate halved
The GDP quadrupled
Almost all people got a health insurance
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stands up for the poor ones
In the meanwhile President Erdogan is loosing approval of the population
different locals I spoke to told me the people are divided into
fifty percent who support the vision of the founder of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
and fifty percent who support the vision of the current president Erdogan
Turkey now ranks at 154 out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of press.
Previously it has even banned YouTube in 2007
but lifted the ban three years later.
allegations of corruption
No Equality between men and women
Replacing frequently prosecutors
conversion of Hagia Sophia from museum to Mosque
His critics call him an autocratic leader intolerant of dissent, who harshly silences
anyone who opposes him
does erdogan want establish his own islamic state?
Let me know your opinion
Did you know that it hasn’t even been 100 years since modern Turkish Republic was founded?
Before the gigantic Muslim Ottoman Empire ruled
from Europe to North Africa into Middle East.
Istanbul was named Constantinople - it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1922.
But being here you need to dig deeper in history.
This place has not always been influenced by islam.
The early settlements here dates back to 660 BCE.
Founded as a Greek city named Byzantium which lasts for 1000 years.
Most history books will tell you that the Rome empire fell in the fifth century CE.
But this would have come as a surprise to the millions of people who lived in the Roman Empire
up through the Middle Ages.
Are you a bit confused?
Let me explain.
In 395 AD, Roman Empire divided into two
Constantine, the first Christian emperor, chose Byzantium as the new capital
of the Roman Empire and founded a new city here named after himself: Constantinapole.
At first, this city was also called as “New Rome”
The western Empire spoke Latin and was Roman Catholic.
The eastern Empire spoke Greek and worshipped under the Eastern Orthodox branch
of the christian church.
After the western part of the Roman Empire fell the eastern half continued to exist as
the Byzantine Empire until the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453.
Today you still can find a lot of ancient landmarks.
One of the most important certainly is Hagia Sophia.
Build as a church this architectural master piece is almost 1500 years old.
It was for almost 1000 years the biggest church in Christianity.
Throughout history this holy place is also a piece of political exercise of power.
Converted from church to mosque, from mosque to museum and again to mosque
just a year ago by the current president Erdogan.
What is your opinion?
Should it be a church - what it actually was build for?
A place to pray for christians?
Should it be a museum?
A historical place as tourist attraction?
Or should it be one of more than 3000 mosques in Istanbul?
After the Ottoman Empire felt apart in World War One, Mustafa Kemal who was born in Salonika
nowadays Thessaloniki and the second largest city in Greece founded Turkey in 1923.
And he also got his name „Atatürk“.
Father of the Turks.
Atatürk vision was to build a secular, modern western orientated nation state.
Ankara became the capital of Turkey
For the first time ever a muslim country was not ruled by religion anymore.
The separation of state and religion were historically established.
Adhan the prayers call which is in arabic all over the world was changed to be in Turkish
Even the word Allah was translated
The government traditionally banned women who wear headscarves from working in the public sector.
Arabic alphabet was replaced by Latin based modern Turkish alphabet.
Kids became required to attend school.
In 1935 women of Turkey were allowed to vote in national elections for the first time.
Istanbul a very interesting city with its unique vibe
great views and step streets
make sure to dive into the turkish food culture
what is it?
We have tantuni here. it is traditional turkish street food actually
very delicious
desserts worldwide known as super special
This is turkish delight with honey
my favorite - fresh fish Kebab at Galata Bridge - turkish streetfood style
Enjoy a Turkish Pizza called - Lahmacun
Karaköy and Balat with its beautiful tiny cafes spread among colorful streets where artists express their creativi
Also Istanbul is awaiting you with wonderful sights like the Topkapi Palast
which served In the 15th and 16th centuries as the main residence and administrative headquarters
of the Ottoman sultans
Galata Tower - the perfect place to be to get an 360 view of the city
In the past this tower was also used to spot fires within the city
You also can have a ride with the second oldest subway in the world
which started transporting people in 1875.
in lodon you will find the oldest one
Nowhere ancient heritage, Christianity and oriental culture merge like they do in the
city on the Bosporus
I totally recommend to visit and spend some days there
I am sure you will love the warm hospitality of the turks
thank you so much for having me Istanbul
I love Istanbul because we have everything here
like forrest, like big sea, we have the Bosporus
we have city life
we have historical sites
you must see it
I hope this little documentary could give you a short insight what is awaiting you
and now it’s time to discover all this by your own.
But before - its time for you - to leave your thoughts in the comment section
stay fair
and if you want to stay in touch
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See you in the next video