Istanbul Atatürk Airport airport was originally named "Yeşilköy Airport". In the 1980s, it was renamed "Istanbul Atatürk International Airport" in honour of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. It served more than 60 million passengers in 2015, making it the 11th-busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic and the 10th-busiest in the world in terms of international passenger traffic. As of 2017, it is Europe's 5th-busiest airport after London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, having fallen from third place after a decline in passengers due to
Ballet in Turkey Ballet in Turkey The history of the art of classical ballet in Turkey only goes back about 60 years, however, classical ballet performances in Turkey date from two centuries before. The General Superintendent of the Ottoman Military Bands, Donizetti Pasha, was invited to Istanbul in September 1828 and introduced the principles of classical western music as well as some samples of operas and ballets to the Ottoman Palace of Mahmud II. Turkish ballet, in the period prior to the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, was mostly centered around Istanbul and Izmir. Turkish ballet has been intimately connected to Turkish