Education and Culture in Istanbul city

As capital of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, İstanbul played a central role in a variety of religious, intellectual, political, and cultural movements. The impact of these movements is visible in the city’s architecture, museums, and libraries.

( Istanbul University )
İstanbul is a vibrant academic center. Institutions of higher education include İstanbul University (founded in 1453), İstanbul Technical University (1773), Marmara University (1883), Yıldız University (1911), the University of the Bosporus (founded as Robert College in 1863 and taken over by the national government in 1971), and Koç University (1993).

Two of Turkey’s finest museums are housed in Topkapı and Hagia Sophia. Other museums in İstanbul include the Turkish Military Museum and the Atatürk Museum. İstanbul’s Opera House stages operas, ballets, and symphonies.

İstanbul hosts a number of annual cultural events. The İstanbul Cultural Festival, held in the summer, offers music and dance performances in more than 50 venues throughout the city, including outdoors at Rumelihisarı. The city also hosts a summer jazz festival.

Turkey is one of the world’s largest producers of motion pictures, and a highly regarded international film festival takes place in İstanbul during the early months of the year.