Constantinople, Istanbul

Constantinople is present-day Istanbul (as of 1930) and is located on a peninsula at the Sea of Marmara. Constantinople was built in 324 by the Roman emperor Constantine to be the new capitol of the Roman Empire. It was built over the city of Byzantium. One of the major construction projects that went on at the time Constantinople was built was the massive architectural achievement of the Hagia Sophia. This church was built in the 6^th century and was converted to a mosque in the 15^th century and since then has been converted into a museum. The past of Istanbul was always geared to higher learning. Some of the institutions there include Istanbul University (1453), Istanbul Technical University (1773), Marmara University (1883), Yildiz University (1911), and the University of the Bosporus (1863). Also, the city of Istanbul showed to be very religious, the city alone was nearly 200 catholic churches.

Jonathan