The Power of Istanbul

"Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her
leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!"

Narrated from Bishr al-Khath`ami or al-Ghanawi by:

Ahmad, al-Musnad 14:331 #18859 [sahih chain according to Hamza al-Zayn], al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak 4:421-422 [sahih according to him and al-Dhahabi concurred], al-Tabarani, al-Mu`jam al-Kabir 2:38 #1216 [sahih chain according to al-Haythami 6:218-219], al-Bukhari, al-Tarikh al-Kabir 2:81 and al-Saghir 1:306, Ibn `Abd al-Barr, al-Isti`ab 8:170 [hasan chain according to him]
al-Suyuti, al-Jami` al-Saghir [sahih according to him].

• If the earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital. 
  Napoleon Bonaparte
• If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul. 
  Alphonse de Lamartine
• If they say “you have your last chance to look at the world”, I wish that look would from Çamlıca of Istanbul.
  Alphonse de Lamartine
• All other cities are doomed, but I imagine that as long as people exist, Constantinople will exist.
  Petrus Gyllius
• Istanbul, a universal beauty where poet and archeologist, diplomat and merchant, princess and sailor, northerner and westerner screams with same admiration. The whole world thinks that this city is the most beautiful place on earth.
  Edmondo De Amicis
• Holy Istanbul! Your name is the most enchanting one of all names which enchants me.
  Pierre Loti
• Istanbul owes its extraordinary situation to Golden Horn, Marmara Sea and The Bosphorus.
  Andrea Horn
• İstanbul is a magical seal which unites Europe and Asia since the ancient times. Without a doubt, Istanbul is certainly the most beautiful place of the world.
  Gerard De Nerval
• People were right when they say there is no other place on earth as beautiful looking as Istanbul.
  Chateaubriand
• On the meeting point of two worlds, the ornament of Turkish homeland, the treasure of Turkish history, the city cherished by the Turkish nation, İstanbul, has its place in the hearts of all citizens.
  Atatürk
• Either I conquer Istanbul or Istanbul conquers me.
  Fatih Sultan Mehmet

Istanbul City (www.telegraph.co.uk)

Istanbul's silhouette