Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul (, or or ; ), historically known as Byzantium and before 1924 as Constantinople, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait (which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side. The city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (coterminous with Istanbul Province), both hosting a population of around 15
Strait of Bonifacio Strait of Bonifacio The Strait of Bonifacio (, , , , Gallurese: "Bocchi di Bunifaciu", , ) is the strait between Corsica and Sardinia, named after the Corsican town Bonifacio. It is wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea from the western Mediterranean Sea. The strait is notorious among sailors for its weather, currents, shoals, and other obstacles. The most famous disaster in the Strait of Bonifacio was that of the French frigate "Sémillante" on February 15, 1855. "Sémillante" had left the port of Toulon the day before on its way into the Black Sea to supply the Crimean War with