What Did They Say about Istanbul?
“At the meeting point of the two great continents and the jewel, richness and pupil of the Turkish nation, Istanbul is a city in the hearts of all the citizens.”
(Mustafa Kemal Ataturk)
“The only city eligible to be the capital of the world is Istanbul which is also the centre of the whole universe.”
(Baron De Tott)
“The one who rules Istanbul also rules the world. Therefore, it is necessary to get close to Istanbul as much as possible.”
(Russian Tsar Peter the Great)
“Istanbul reflects the harmonious aesthetics of Asia and Europe with the mesmerizing rhythm.”
(French Baroness D. de Fontmagne -1856)
“Istanbul has always been a magical and almost sacred land to meet Europe and Asia.” Istanbul is surely the most beautiful place in the world.”
(Gerard De NervaI)
“Istanbul is a universal and great beauty where poets and archaeologists, diplomats and merchants, princesses and seafarers, and Northerners and Southerners all cry the same sense of admiration. Everyone believes that this city is the most beautiful place in the world.”
(Edmondo De Amicis)
“This is the city of Istanbul without an equivalent.
The whole world is but a trifle compared to a stone of it.”
(Turkish Poet Nedim)
“If the world was only a single state, Istanbul would the capital.”
(Napoleon Bonaparte)
“Istanbul owes the outstanding beauty to the Golden Horn, the Marmara Sea and the Bosporus.”
(Andrea Horn)
“There is no other city in the world which is established on a pertinent land as much as Istanbul.”
(Spanish traveller Pedro)
“If they said I was going to look at the world for one last time, I would like to have it from the Camlica Hill of Istanbul.”
(Alphonse de Lamartine)
“All the cities of the world are mortal but I believe Istanbul will live as long as there are humans.”
(Petrus Gyllius)
“Oh, Istanbul! You are the most magnificent among the magnificent.”
(Pierre Loti)
“The world does not bear any other landscape which is more beautiful. Istanbul is the queen of all the cities of the world with the grand domes and picturesque country-sides.”
(British Lady Dorina Neave)
“There is no landscape in the world which is more beautiful than Istanbul.”
(Mrs. Lady Dorina)
“Human imagination could picture only as beautiful a city as Istanbul.”
(British Ambassador Sir Henry Layard)
“Istanbul is the true capital of the world.
It is unrivalled with regard to the geographical location.”
(Joseph Heller)
“All the cities of the world may disappear but Istanbul will continue to live in the hearts of men and women.”
(Gyllius)
“Those who professed that there was no city
in the world as beautiful as Istanbul were truly right.”
(Chateaubrıand)
“No brush or pen could properly depict the beauty of the landscape of Istanbul.”
(French Poet Alphonse de Lamartine)
“All the writers of the old and new know that Istanbul is in the most distinguished place of the world.”
(Armenian Geographer Inciciyan)
“A unique city beautifully connecting the East and the West and offering freedom to people in every aspect…”
(Mrs. Max Muller)
“Sky-piercing minarets and countless domes of lead
are placed in nature in a mesmerizing way.”
(German General Moltke, 1835)
“You can’t find a new country or another sea.
You will be followed by this city.
(Konstantinos Kavafis)