Boğaziçi (Istanbul) Boğaziçi (Istanbul) Boğaziçi is the general term, specific to İstanbul and overlapping administrative divisions, used to denote those parts of the city with view of the Bosphorus. The respective nuances of the two terms (the strait itself and the urban area of Boğaziçi) being somewhat similar to those between San Francisco Bay and the Bay Area, they are not used interchangeably in correct parlance. The term Boğaziçi is used with particular emphasis relating to those parts of İstanbul which are situated north of the Golden Horn (Haliç), starting with the district of Beşiktaş on the European side of the Bosphorus.
Names of Istanbul Names of Istanbul The city of Istanbul has been known by a number of different names. The most notable names besides the modern Turkish name are "Byzantium", "Constantinople", and "Stamboul". Different names are associated with different phases of its history and with different languages. According to Pliny the Elder the first name of Byzantium was "Lygos". This may have been the name of a Thracian settlement situated on the site of the later city, near the point of the peninsula (Sarayburnu). "Byzantion" (Βυζάντιον), Latinized as "Byzantium", was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC. The name is believed