How much do you know about Istanbul?
QUESTIONS.
1. Prior to becoming Istanbul, the city was known as …?
2. Istanbul covers both sides of a famous waterway.What is the waterway called?
3. What is the narrow inlet of the Bosphorous called which makes Istanbul a
seaport?
4. What is the oldest of many old sections of the city called?
5. Stambul is built on the site of an even older city. It’s name?
6. What is the name of the largest mosque in Istanbul, built between 1550 and
1557?
7. What is the name of the 6th century Christian church, converted into a mosque
in 15th century, now a museum?
8. Which Roman Emperor changed the city’s name from Byzantium to
Constantinople in 324 AD?
9. Constantinople has been one of the most besieged cities in history. Who laid
siege to it in 673-678, and 717-718?
10. And who besieged it in 813 and again in 913?
11. And who occupied it in 1203 and 1204?
12. And who finally took it in 1453 and kept it?
13. However important Istanbul is, it is no longer capital of Turkey, In 1923 that
honour was transferred to …?
14. What is the name of the main residence of the Ottoman Sultans from 1465 to
1853; since 1924 a museum?
15. What is the name of the famous American stage and film director, born in
Istanbul in 1909?
ANSWERS
1. Constantinople 2.The Bosphorous Straits 3.The Golden Horn 4. Stambul 5.
Byzantium 6. Suleimaniye Mosque 7. Hagia Sophia 8. Constantine the Great 9.The
Arabs 10.The Bulgarians 11.The Crusaders 12.The Turks 13.Ankara 14.Topkapi
Palace 15. Elia Kazan
