Church, the Armenian Patriarchate, and the Turkish Chief Rabbi (Hahambasi). Istanbul was formerly also the seat of the Bulgarian Exarchate, before its autocephaly was recognized by other Orthodox churches.

throughout the year. The Istanbul International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in Europe.i

3)

Literature and Media

Orhan Pamuk is one of the leading contemporary Turkish novelists and the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Tanzimat reforms of 1839–1876 brought changes to the language of Ottoman written literature, and introduced previously unknown Western genres, primarily the novel and the short story.ii It was since the reforms that writers are geared towards creating a Western-style "high art", rather than the two primary streams of Ottoman literature, poetry and prose. Generally the early literature is the collection of written and oral texts composed in the Turkish language, either in its Ottoman form or in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today.

Istanbul is also known as the printing capital of Turkey with a wide variety of groups expressing diverse views. Most nationwide newspapers are based in Istanbul, and major newspapers of other cities also have their headquarters in Istanbul. Numerous local and national TV and radio stations are located in Istanbul, including over a hundred FM-radio stations.

4)

Sports

There are once dominating sports in the empire times. During the Roman and Byzantine periods, the most important sporting events were the quadriga chariot races that were held at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which had a capacity to accommodate more than 100,000 spectators.iii And the Oiled Wrestling had been popular since Ottoman times.iv

The most popular sport in current Istanbul is football. In 2000, Istanbul team Galatasaray cemented its role as a major European club by winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Two years later the Turkish national team finished third in the 2002 World Cup. Other than mainstream sports such as basketball and volleyball, motorsports, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, and other extreme sports are becoming more popular every

year.

The Grand Bazaar is the oldest and one of the largest covered markets in the world.

2)

Music

Traditional Istanbul music includes elements of Central Asian folk music, Arabic, Persian classical music, ancient Greco-Roman music and modern European and American popular music.

European classical composers in the 18th century were fascinated by Turkish music, particularly the strong role given to the brass and percussion instruments. Mozart wrote the well-known Turkish March.

Pop music emerged in Istanbul in the late 1950s with a wide range of imported popular styles, including rock and roll, tango, and jazz. As more styles emerged, they were also adopted, such as hip hop, heavy metal and reggae. Istanbul is also home to numerous music festivals which showcase styles ranging from the blues and jazz to indie rock and heavy metal, world famous pop stars fill stadiums, activities like opera, ballet and theatre continue